The curious and historical origin of the bidet
Everything seems to indicate that the modern bidet was created at the end of the 17th century by French furniture manufacturers, as a receptacle for water for the riders to relieve themselves after a painful day on horseback.
Panasonic portable bidet Handy De Toilette Violet DL-P300-V
Hence, the word bidet [bidet in French spelling] means pony, in reference to the posture that is adopted when sitting (in old French, bider meant jogging).
Other sources suggest that it was designed as an intimate hygiene tool for pre- and post-coital relationships, and also as a contraceptive method.
According to the writer Néstor Luján, he was mentioned for the first time in 1710 in France, when Madame de Prie received the Marquis of Argenson in an audience sitting in his bidet.
Originally, the bidet was placed on an easel and used in the bedroom.
It was commercially advertised in Paris from 1739, and around 1770, when the bathroom furniture began to acquire a certain complexity and the basin (forerunner of the washbasin) took on new forms, the bidet already appeared as one more element in the bathroom.