Entertainment

He's The Rightful Heir To A DIfferent Throne

by Mallory Schlossberg

If you've ever wondered who's REALLY the rightful heir to throne, we have your answer! But it's a different kind of throne (badum-chhh): Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington's great grandfather is the inventor of the toilet. So there you go. You'll never sit on your throne the same way again.

He told Jimmy Kimmel this beyond important piece of information (seriously, Jon Snow's ancestor invented the toilet; now it will be impossible to not think about the April 6 season premiere on a daily basis) when he appeared on the show last night to promote his new movie Pompeii, which comes out tomorrow, and was not met too positively by critics, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT HERE.

And a bit of history, folks — Harrington told Kimmel that "his name was John Harington. He lived in the 1600s, and he invented the toilet [...] thus why it’s called the John.” It's true! Sir John Harington invented the first flushing toilet (chamber pots and the like existed before) for Queen Elizabeth I, so this was a toilet built for royalty. He made one for himself, too, and he published a book describing his invention and documenting his prowess for plumbing, but folks shamed and mocked him, 'cause like who needs a flushing toilet when you have a CHAMBER POT?! Toilet making didn't take off until a couple hundred years later, when people appreciated plumbing slightly more.

But like the majority of us who are fans of flushing our toilets, Kimmel expressed gratitude. He told Harington, "my family is very, very grateful to your great grandfather on a daily basis." So, despite being a bastard, it looks like Jon Snow actually has the most powerful ancestry of all!