Home Hot Tubs - Who Invented the Hot Tub

Despite popular belief, home hot tubs are not a modern American invention and have literally been around for hundreds of years in one form or the other. So, next time that you sit down in your hot tub to enjoy a relaxing soak, just imagine that your ancestors may well have been enjoying the same pleasurable spa experieinces long before you were born.

Hot tubs have been used in various forms for centuries by civilizations around the world. In Europe, a form of hot tub has been found in both ancient Greece and Rome. The water was heated by passing close to volcanic lava, heated rocks were dropped into the pool, and perhaps the most elaborate method of all was to warm the water by heating a room under a pool of water.

The hot tubs in Greece were often found adjacent to the gymnasiums. These ancient baths were deemed a social meeting place as well as being useful for health and hygienic reasons. The baths also played a part in ancient Greek marriage, death and birth rituals.

The bathhouses of the Roman Empire were magnificent structures. In Rome, they were often the 'pet project' of Roman Emperors. They often included sports halls, gymnasiums, restaurant, hair salons, libraries and reading rooms. Advances in Roman technology brought bath houses to the outmost reaches of the Empire from the African deserts, to the tops of the Alps and even as far as northern England.

In Victorian times, hot tubs used water from springs found along earthquake fault lines. Sometimes the hot tub was just a water pool heated by volcanic magma that has risen through tectonic plates. The heated mineral water was reputed to have healing properties. One of the earliest hot springs known in the United States is in North Carolina, discovered by Native Americans discovered. In the 1800s, travelers and the sick came to take advantage of the springs' reputed healing abilities.

The modern American home hot tub is considered to have been invented in the 1950s. It was simply a pump placed in the family tub. This 'primitive' modern hot tub was used for hydrotherapy for people suffering from arthritis.

The hot tub industry picked up in the 1960's, and the first self-contained whirlpool bath was invented in 1968. The 70's brought fiberglass hot tubs designed to accommodate several people. The heated water circulated and filtered increasing the life expectancy of the tub and also decreasing the amount of maintenance needed by the owners.

The 80's and 90's saw many new designs of hot tubs and the debut of the spa, a self-contained hot tub. Outdoor hot tubs that seated several people were popular. With better materials and lower costs, production and manufacturing became less expensive. Hot tubs were no longer luxuries for the famous and wealthy. People of modest means are now able to enjoy the benefits of a hot tub.

The purchase of home hot tubs has expanded. As medical science has advanced, the benefits of hydrotherapy have become increasingly recognized. People with motor deterioration, muscular problems, or simply back pain can use the hot tub for hydrotherapy. Even those without medical problems have enjoyed relaxing and relieving stress in the hot tub.