Plumbers specialize in the installation and maintenance of water systems. Like electricians, they are required to obtain a license from a trade or vocational school and have a background in various aspects of industrial, domestic, and communal pipe work, water heating (steam- and gas- fitters), water treatment (such as water cleaning and purification), drainage, sewer networking, dynamics of water flow, water storage, temperature adjustment, and dangers of water hazards.

Plumbers get their name from the Latin Plumbum, for ‘lead,’ since the ancient Romans used pipes made from lead. The term therefore refers to the metallic element out of which their main building material is made.

Interestingly, Einstein, the father of modern mathematics, admired the plumber:

“If I would be a young man again and had to decide how to make my living, I would not try to become a scientist or scholar or teacher. I would rather choose to be a plumber in the hope to find that modest degree of independence still available under present circumstances.” - Albert Einstein, The Reporter, 18 November 1954

Not too long after this remark was published, Einstein was granted an honorary membership into the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union, A.F.L., in Washington D.C., which made the genius, in effect, a plumber. The new title pleased Einstein, although he supposedly wasn’t looking for or expecting praise. When it comes to solving the great mathematical puzzles of the universe, Einstein would have been the first to be considered. Who would have known that he would be the person to call to straighten out the water pipes, too?

Plumbers are unsung heroes. These tradesmen and women work hard at very demanding jobs and have crucial knowledge and understanding regarding that basic necessity which every civilization and human being needs to thrive and survive: water! These plumbers make sure that every single person has healthy water to drink every single day and clean water for bathing. They are humanity’s lifesavers!

By: Herbert Sanchez

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