Great punchline, Sledge. Of all the improvements in civilization, one thing remains the same.

Years ago someone gave my mechanical engineering father a copy of a biography of Thomas Crapper, called "Flushed With Pride: The Story Of Thomas Crapper." My father's one-word opinion of the book? You guessed it.

The Chinese are sounding more like the Russians (who once claimed to have invented baseball among too many other things). Next thing you know the Chinese will claim they invented spaghetti. Ha! (oops - they did)

But seriously, it is fascinating what we learn about ancient civilizations and some of their advancements that later disappeared, only to be reinvented and improved on centuries later.