Our Love Affair With Toilet Paper
Our Love Affair With Toilet Paper
We in the West are enamored with toilet paper. Although most of the civilized world now uses paper to clean up after nature’s less glamorous bodily functions, we expect nothing less than soft two-ply tissue paper.We Really Don't Know "Squat"
Except for those who do a lot of traveling, most of us are oblivious to the fact that in parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and several European countries, people are not unaccustomed to using only their hands and water for the same purpose. Although you’re not likely to find a “Squat Toilet” in a 3 or 4-star hotel in those regions, they are very often found in public restrooms.
Though Squat Toilets vary greatly in degrees of cleanliness, as do all public restrooms throughout the world, they all share one thing in common. Squat systems offer a running water method for personal cleansing. If you're lucky, they have toilet paper too.
One of the more pristine squat toilets.
Without getting into too many details, a Squat Toilet is a hole in the ground enclosed in a stall, which in finer accommodations is tiled. Running water and a bucket is provided for you to do the washing up. It’s a very green way to go, as no paper is used. Instead, you use your hand to do the dirty work and if you’re lucky you don’t mess your clothes or fall into the hole.
It’s been said that squatting to do your serious business not only saves you on toilet paper, it actually has health benefits. It seems squatting naturally opens your evacuation channels. Green and healthful; Very impressive!
I did know that squatting to give birth has merits, as does lifting a heavy box, but beyond that I was clueless. I suppose you can get in that healthful colon-cleansing position simply by sitting on the john while hugging your knees. I would; however, recommend taking a few Stretch Classes first. Then all you have to do is buy yourself an elongated toilet from the Kohler company to further accommodate the position and you're set for life.
Getting back to our love of TP, I have to say Westerners have become spoiled by the endless varieties of toilet paper available in supermarkets today. You can find everything from super-soft, to scented, to super-strong varieties. We even have a brand that promises not to leave white bits on your private parts. Talk about lint picking.
I remember my first visit to the Middle East. I was instructed to bring my own toilet paper and to bring a few rolls as gifts. It paid off. The TP at my accommodation did turn out to be made of egg carton material and my thoughtful offering to others, helped me attracted many new admirers. I still carry a pack of travel-sized tissues with me on my more adventurous journeys.
The History of Very Personal Hygiene
I remember my first visit to the Middle East. I was instructed to bring my own toilet paper and to bring a few rolls as gifts. It paid off. The TP at my accommodation did turn out to be made of egg carton material and my thoughtful offering to others, helped me attracted many new admirers. I still carry a pack of travel-sized tissues with me on my more adventurous journeys.
The History of Very Personal Hygiene
One of those clever Vikings
Another thing people rarely think about is the history of toilet paper. I mean it certainly isn’t an elective subject at university, although it could very easily be taught within a humanities class. Wiping your butt is most definitely a human distinction and it does has a colorful past. (no pun intended).
One of the first items ever used for bathroom hygiene was a mussel shell. I’m baffled at what they were thinking, as mussel shells have absolutely no absorbency and what’s more they have a sharp edge. Oh I think I just got it.
Still I think civilization’s advances may be equated with man’s method of wiping his bum.
The Ancient Greeks used stones and pieces of clay (some absorbency there I guess).
Eskimos used tundra moss in the summer months, (now we’re getting somewhere) and handfuls of snow during the balance of the year. (Brrrrrrrr)
The Ancient Romans used sponges on the ends of sticks, kept in jugs filled with salty water. Very clever, although I would hope to own my own sponge.
The Vikings were probably the first to opt for comfort as well as hygiene. They used discarded sheep’s wool.
The Spanish and Portuguese sailors, being the manly men that they were, used the frayed end of an old anchor cable. It didn’t say whether water or any other lubricating agent was employed.
French Royalty was it’s usual excessive self, choosing to use lace and hemp to clean their bottoms, while the rest of Europe used hay, straw, moss, grass and old rags.
One of the first items ever used for bathroom hygiene was a mussel shell. I’m baffled at what they were thinking, as mussel shells have absolutely no absorbency and what’s more they have a sharp edge. Oh I think I just got it.
Still I think civilization’s advances may be equated with man’s method of wiping his bum.
The Ancient Greeks used stones and pieces of clay (some absorbency there I guess).
Eskimos used tundra moss in the summer months, (now we’re getting somewhere) and handfuls of snow during the balance of the year. (Brrrrrrrr)
The Ancient Romans used sponges on the ends of sticks, kept in jugs filled with salty water. Very clever, although I would hope to own my own sponge.
The Vikings were probably the first to opt for comfort as well as hygiene. They used discarded sheep’s wool.
The Spanish and Portuguese sailors, being the manly men that they were, used the frayed end of an old anchor cable. It didn’t say whether water or any other lubricating agent was employed.
French Royalty was it’s usual excessive self, choosing to use lace and hemp to clean their bottoms, while the rest of Europe used hay, straw, moss, grass and old rags.
The first “official” toilet paper - that is, paper that was produced specifically for the purpose of personal hygiene, dates back to the late 14th Century, when Chinese emperors ordered it in 2-foot x 3-foot sheets. Now that’s a big wad of TP. Either they had no problem tearing off pieces, or they had exceptionally large buttocks.
In America early toilet paper was a good old-fashioned corncob. I suspect most out houses were build in or near cornfields. When people started getting the Sears catalogue it quickly made it’s way into the outhouse. This was a convenient arrangement. You could do your shopping while doing your business, then use the advertisements for toilet paper. The Farmer’s Almanac was also a popular TP publication. It actually had a hole in it, so it could be hung on a hook and the pages could easily be torn off.
Then in 1857 Joseph C. Gayetty of New York got a brilliant idea. He started producing the first packaged toilet paper in the U.S. It consisted of pre-moistened flat sheets medicated with aloe; Kind of like the scented wet wipes we use today.
Shortly thereafter, rolled and perforated toilet paper hit the scene, manufactured by the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company in 1877 and then the Scott Paper company in 1879 or 1890.
This was during the Victorian Era where even in America the very mention of bathroom business was an embarrassment. The Scott Company was so embarrassed by their own product, they couldn’t bring themselves to put their name on it, so they customized it for their clients... hence the Waldorf Hotel became a big name in toilet paper.
The War Years
In America early toilet paper was a good old-fashioned corncob. I suspect most out houses were build in or near cornfields. When people started getting the Sears catalogue it quickly made it’s way into the outhouse. This was a convenient arrangement. You could do your shopping while doing your business, then use the advertisements for toilet paper. The Farmer’s Almanac was also a popular TP publication. It actually had a hole in it, so it could be hung on a hook and the pages could easily be torn off.
Then in 1857 Joseph C. Gayetty of New York got a brilliant idea. He started producing the first packaged toilet paper in the U.S. It consisted of pre-moistened flat sheets medicated with aloe; Kind of like the scented wet wipes we use today.
Shortly thereafter, rolled and perforated toilet paper hit the scene, manufactured by the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company in 1877 and then the Scott Paper company in 1879 or 1890.
This was during the Victorian Era where even in America the very mention of bathroom business was an embarrassment. The Scott Company was so embarrassed by their own product, they couldn’t bring themselves to put their name on it, so they customized it for their clients... hence the Waldorf Hotel became a big name in toilet paper.
The War Years
Sarah Palin Toilet Paper
Europe was hurting financially after WWI and there was neither the money, nor the inclination to produce such a “hygienic novelty” as bathroom tissue.
However; in 1928, despite the global economic crisis, a man named Klenk opened a toilet paper factory in Ludwigsburg . He produced the usual perforated paper on a roll, but more importantly it had good decomposition qualities so it didn’t block up the canals; Very sustainable for its day!
In 1935, Northern Tissue brought out "splinter-free" toilet paper. I forgot to mention; early toilet paper contained wood chippings or “splinters” embedded in the paper. Ouch!
The toilet paper industry flourished as indoor plumbing became the norm.
Then America experienced its first toilet paper shortage in 1973. I haven’t a clue as to why this happened, but I do know that it was the year the U.S. signed a peace agreement with Vietnam and the year burglars were caught breaking into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Complex. You can come to your own conclusions.
Some Intriguing Statistics
However; in 1928, despite the global economic crisis, a man named Klenk opened a toilet paper factory in Ludwigsburg . He produced the usual perforated paper on a roll, but more importantly it had good decomposition qualities so it didn’t block up the canals; Very sustainable for its day!
In 1935, Northern Tissue brought out "splinter-free" toilet paper. I forgot to mention; early toilet paper contained wood chippings or “splinters” embedded in the paper. Ouch!
The toilet paper industry flourished as indoor plumbing became the norm.
Then America experienced its first toilet paper shortage in 1973. I haven’t a clue as to why this happened, but I do know that it was the year the U.S. signed a peace agreement with Vietnam and the year burglars were caught breaking into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Complex. You can come to your own conclusions.
Some Intriguing Statistics
Today there are over 5,000 different companies producing bathroom tissue around the world. Way back in 1997, it was estimated that people “waste” about 1,000 sheets of TP each day. The logistics of that survey must have been interesting.
Here’s something everyone who uses the bathroom should to know: The entire world uses 2.7 rolls per second. But wait, there’s more….
Sixty-eight percent of toilet paper users prefer pulling the sheet from over the top of the roll, rather than from under the bottom of the roll.
Forty-four percent of people wipe from front to back, and sixty percent look at the paper they just wiped.
Forty-two percent fold; thirty-three percent crumple; eight percent both fold and crumple and six percent wrap it around their hands.
Fifty percent of people have at one time or another wiped with something other than toilet paper, but only one percent have wiped their butts with money. When I get rich, I must remember to try that.
In 1964 Americans were bombarded with insipid but highly successful television commercials for “Squeezably Soft” Charmin featuring Dick Wilson as the almost lovable Mr. Whipple.
For his role in making Charmin the No. 1 toilet paper in America, Wilson's salary grew to $300,000 a year, and Procter & Gamble promised him a "lifetime supply" of toilet paper.
From:
http://hubpages.com/search/include:hubs+toilets
Our Love Affair With Toilet Paper
Here’s something everyone who uses the bathroom should to know: The entire world uses 2.7 rolls per second. But wait, there’s more….
Sixty-eight percent of toilet paper users prefer pulling the sheet from over the top of the roll, rather than from under the bottom of the roll.
Forty-four percent of people wipe from front to back, and sixty percent look at the paper they just wiped.
Forty-two percent fold; thirty-three percent crumple; eight percent both fold and crumple and six percent wrap it around their hands.
Fifty percent of people have at one time or another wiped with something other than toilet paper, but only one percent have wiped their butts with money. When I get rich, I must remember to try that.
In 1964 Americans were bombarded with insipid but highly successful television commercials for “Squeezably Soft” Charmin featuring Dick Wilson as the almost lovable Mr. Whipple.
For his role in making Charmin the No. 1 toilet paper in America, Wilson's salary grew to $300,000 a year, and Procter & Gamble promised him a "lifetime supply" of toilet paper.
http://hubpages.com/search/include:hubs+toilets
Our Love Affair With Toilet Paper
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