J.K. Rowling has seemingly made it her mission to fill in as much of the Wizarding World’s history as she can, and that’s certainly a good thing. On the whole, Pottermore – essentially an interactive online encyclopedia for all things Harry Potter – is a wonderful resource that allows fans to get to know the beloved fictional universe a little better. However, Rowling’s latest reveal may have gone just a bit too far.
To celebrate National Trivia Day this week, the Pottermore trivia account shared a new fact, and it’s one that’s left the Potter fandom totally grossed out. If you haven’t had the misfortune of seeing it yet, take a look for yourself below:
Hogwarts didn't always have bathrooms. Before adopting Muggle plumbing methods in the eighteenth century, witches and wizards simply relieved themselves wherever they stood, and vanished the evidence. #NationalTriviaDay
— Wizarding World (@wizardingworld) January 4, 2019
Yes, that’s a genuine tweet from Pottermore. And what’s more, it’s not just something the site’s social media manager’s cooked up, as it 100% comes from the mind of J.K. The fact’s actually pulled from a new piece Rowling wrote for Pottermore on the history of the Chamber of Secrets. She revealed that its hidden entrance in the girl’s bathroom wasn’t always there as…well, sadly we now know why.
Obviously, fans were left stunned at what they’d just read, and here are just a few of their non-plussed reactions:
https://twitter.com/AMetalstein/status/1081554860586213376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
🥴🥴🥴🥴 pic.twitter.com/GGOh7UIJtk
— LadyTeapots🫖 (@LadyTeapots) January 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/AObenshain98/status/1081525443763884032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Others, meanwhile, pointed out that it doesn’t make sense from a logical perspective. Either bearing in mind actual historical practices…
CASTLES ALWAYS HAD TOILETS! HOLES IN THE WALLS! BUCKETS! Why wouldnt wizard castles have it too. Who came up with this "fact"? Surely not JK herself.
— Basikal Tua (@taxeedrvr) January 5, 2019
… Or the rules of the Wizarding World that Rowling’s previously set out.
Oh, it gets worse. Vanishing spells are complex and difficult enough they’re not taught to anyone lesser than a fifth year student…
— Jennifer Nicole (@chaoswolf1982) January 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/rhiannakathlyne/status/1081569363294126080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At this point, I think the only thing left to do is for for us to collectively obliviate our memories of this tweet and forget that this fact was ever inflicted on the Harry Potter universe.
