Crossing the Silk Road, Marco Polo brought elements of Western culture to the East and Eastern culture back to the West.
Because of his exploration for trade of what is today modern China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and India, the east experienced Western culture.
Furthermore, his journeys were documented in the Book of the Marvels of the World which presented to Europeans the Asian cities and countries.
Martin Luther was inspired to launch the Protestant Reformation while seated comfortably on the chamber pot. That cannot be confirmed, but in 2004 archeologists discovered Luther's lavatory, which was remarkably modern for its day, featuring a heated-floor system and a primitive drain.