History Of Toilet Paper And The Many Uses Of The Toilet Paper Roll
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Toilet paper, toilet tissue, bathroom/toilet tissue, is a convenience that we just take for granted. Sure we could live without it but would we really want to.
The history of toilet paper dates way back to the 6th century AD in medieval China and according to Wikipedia it was used by Chinese emperors in the 14th Century as we use toilet paper today, except it was a bit larger than what we have now. They ordered it in 2 x 3 foot sheets. What were they thinking and what were people using before to wipe their derrières.
A middle-easterner would use their left hand…. eeeewww. Purell hand sanitizer would have been so useful back then.
The Greeks used stones and clay and Romans would use a sponge on a stick. Gives one a new outlook on sticks and stones may break my bones but also are quite handy.
In the early American West it was very common to use a catalogue. “You done reading that Sears Wish book son cause Daddy needs to go”.
It would not be unusual to find a Farmers Almanac hung from a hook in the outhouse with pages torn out. Think of that next time you are in someone’s washroom and happen to see a Farmer almanac sitting there.
I remember my grandmother telling me how they would use old newspapers in the old country back in the day. “Look, look told you it was in last weeks news, says so right here on my butt”.
In 1857 the first packaged toilet paper, which was flat sheets, pre-moistened with aloe came out in the U.S.A. and was called Gayetty’s Medicated Paper.
Finally in the 1880’s the perforated and rolled toilet paper was invented. Some people say it was Albany Perforated Wrapping Company that came out with it and others say it was Scott Paper Company.
We can thank Great Britain for their introduction to two-ply toilet tissue in 1942. Today we have 3 ply and I have to say who needs 3 ply. I bought 3 ply once by mistake and all it did was clog my toilet.
Onto Some Fun Stuff About Toilet Paper
Toilet paper and toilet paper rolls are a great source for making crafts. You can make snowflakes, butterfly masks, angels’ toilet paper origami and more. Linda Wright will show you how easy it is to do in her book called Toilet Paper Origami.
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For everyone who either likes or dislikes Obama you can buy your very own Obama toilet paper. Get yours today and “Flush your troubles down the drain”.
Actual Uses For The Empty Rolls
Toilet Paper Rolls can come in quite handy if you cannot bring yourself to throw them away. If you have small critters such as rats, gerbils, guinea pigs or hamsters, rolls can be used as a toy for them. Just put them into their cages and they will play with them for hours. At Christmas time use the rolls to place small stocking stuffers in before wrapping. Save them up for craft day with the little ones. They also make great fire starters for when you are outdoors that is. Here is something that I find very creative and something you can do while sitting on the toilet. Toilet Paper sculptures made by Junior Fritz Jacquet. http://haha.nu/arts/artwork/junior-fritz-jacquet-toilet-paper-rool-sculptures/
Cats and dogs are very fascinated by toilet paper. In my house we cannot leave the bathroom door open as Magz our dog, will go in and steal toilet paper. One day someone (not me of course) had left the cabinet door open in the bathroom. What a mess, she must have found the stash of toilet paper because when I went to see what she was up to, there was toilet paper everywhere. (I bet you thought only kids toilet papered houses). She had tried to eat it as I found all these wadded little wet mounds of tissue stuck to the floor. For some reason this dog loves paper.
The Aussies as shown in this commercial below have a Real Mans Toilet Paper
Hope you enjoyed this hub on Toilet Paper.
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Learn about The History of Toilets
- History of Toilets; History of Bathrooms; Toilet Improvements
Bathrooms, restrooms, toilets, water closets or loos have not always been so handy, hygienic or private. Let’s look at the history of toilets through the ages. In our journey through history, we will even find an answer to the question of why a toile
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I had this from you
very full discussion, writing a very impressive
Bldg an Architect, It was a weekly inspiration topic :) Glad you liked it.
How on earth did you ever think to write a hub on toilet paper of all things? I love it!
yes. and gross :-)
PDX, Ricky Roca, That's a good one lol.
i used to have a roommate with a cat named Ricky. when my dog would get into the kitty litter, we would call it Ricky Roca :-)
PDX, I think all dogs like kitty litter. It's a delicacy to them.
well, at least it's not like eating cat litter. My dogs go insane for that stuff :-)
Wesman, Thanks for reading :)
PDX, My dogs unravel the toilet paper and chew and eat the cardboard. I have to keep my bathroom door always shut as they will go on a toilet paper hunt.
interesting hub, Susan. i did cringe at the thought of using stones to wipe my bum but I suppose it's better then my left hand. We give one of our dogs, Bella, empty rolls to chew on. she loves the cardboard!
hehehehhe.
Got a rare laugh from a Will Starr comment!!!
Princesswithapen, Thank you, and glad you enjoyed this with a laugh :)
Not in my wildest dreams did I foresee that I'd be reading about toilet paper with my morning cuppa, but I have to say it made for an amusing read. Your take on "..sticks and stones may break my bones but also are quite handy.." was hilarious!
Nicely done Susan.
Princesswithapen
Man from Modesto, I'm glad I don't have to use a hose :)
time2rite, Thanks and glad you enjoyed it.
Just Ask Susan, this was a great hub; I am still "rolling" with laughter! I found it not only interesting but extremely humorous. Thanks for for the info and for the laughs.
Anyone who has worked in the middle east knows about the hoses. After one year there, I still don't know how to use those!
Sunshine, My grandmother used to curl my hair with toilet paper. Wrap the hair in toilet paper then roll up with foil. I looked like a little martian. Thanks for reminding me of this :)
Interesting. I once wondered what they did before toilet paper, I now know and ewwww.
How about other uses for toilet paper? Such as TP'ing someone's tree? It's more for fun than a real use. Some women wrap their hairdo's with TP while they sleep, in the morning they remove the TP and supposedly their "do" is good to go for the day. I heard about that on The View. Anyway this hub was a nice tribute to TP and i'm not shittin' ya. Ok I'm outta here...gotta go.
THEHuG5, Hi and nice to meet you. So glad that you enjoyed the hub.
homesteadbound, Our property had an outhouse on it at one time way back when. Thank you for stopping by and for commenting.
tammy, My Grandmother told me of using catalogs too :) Thank you.
alocsin, I'm pretty happy about being born to the toilet paper using world :)
Vincent, Did he have it next time that you visited?
Daisy, I would be carrying around toilet paper too :)
“You done reading that Sears Wish book son cause Daddy needs to go” That woke me up this morning lol! My dog always tears up the toilet paper too if we leave the bathroom door open. I enjoyed reading this a lot, great idea for a hub.
This is a really cute hub. My great granfather still had two outhouses (in town) that he used until his death in the late sixties.
What a cute idea. I remember my Grandmother telling me I used too much toilet paper. She grew up during the depression and she said she had to use the Sears catalog! Well done!
One of my favorite inventions. I don't know how I would've survived pre-TP. Voting this Up and Interesting.
I was at and Indonesian friends apartment years ago. I went to use his bathroom and in place of toilet tissue there was a bottle of water next to the head. I yelled where's your ass wipe. He didn't have a clue what I was referring to. I made him run down to the store and buy me a roll while I sat on his throne waiting for his return. LoL
I accompanied my boyfriend on a business trip to India several years ago. In the three weeks we were there, I only left the hotel property once...My boyfriend told me that in some of the men's rooms he used, there was a water hose instead of toilet paper. He began carrying a roll of toilet paper in his briefcase.
Susan, It's much softer than the old Sears catalogue :)
I bet! That's rough! LOL
Susan, I couldn't use Charmin for the longest time as we had an old style toilet. Happy to say that we can now :) Thanks.
RH, LOL so glad :)
Susan - this is perfect! You validate me! LOL LOL
This is great!! Yikes on some of the old ways people used to use. Voted up and across. I had to laugh when I read Will Starr's comment about corncobs. My grandparents used to talk about that. OUCH!!! I am happy to be spoiled with my Charmin. :-)
Perspycacious, Thank you, what a nice sounding leaf, and soft too. Nice to meet you.
Pioneers also used mullein leaf when they could find it. Its other name is Lambs Ear; very soft, and chlorophyll too!
Gordon, Glad that you liked the hub and thanks for your comments.
Never realised the history of toilet paper went back so far, Susan - maybe these ancient oriental emperors were somewhat larger in the part of the posterior than people tend to be today, through sitting on them all day...???
I remember the toilet "paper" that we used to have at school. It was more comfortable to steal sandpaper out of the woodwork class! Though the old style roll insides made excellent telescopes when you were playing at pirates...
Great Hub and very interesting.
mythicalstorm, Thanks and no I don't mind at all.
This was quite entertaining! I hope you don't mind I linked it to one of my hubs :-)
safiq ali patel Thank you for your input. Have a great day!
I'm not sure I like hubs that are market stalls from promoting amazon products in the middle. Advertising should be subtle and place to one side.
Thanks so much jamie.
wow great information :) i have a uncle in ontario in coldberg i think its called i shall read more of your hubs :)
wow great information :) i have a uncle in ontario in coldberg i think its called i shall read more of your hubs :)
saddlerider thanks for sharing :). My grandmother's cottage on the St. Lawrence River had an outhouse and I as I recall there was no toilet paper as we know it today in there.
What a very informative read, a little sticky and smelly however very well written:0)) I remember once going to the john and sitting on the throne, then looking for toilet paper, there was none. My friend was Indonesian, he yelled to me to use the bottle of water beside the toilet.
I yelled back are you insane:0) He knocked on my door and handed me a roll he had hidden away for guests.
Yes in their country they use water to wash off the debris/excess/clingers/poop/ etc etc etc..he he..I learned something that day for sure.
Thanks for sharing the various ways of wiping ones backside. BTW my aunt's cottage back in the 60's up in the Laurentians in Quebec had magazines in the outhouse for that reason to give a wipe, however the glossy and shinyness smeared a lot. Ewwwwwwwwwwww...lol
workingmomwm since posting this hub I have tried with every empty roll to sculpt like that. Mine look pretty crazy.
henry thanks so much.
This is a wonderful post. The things given are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.
I love the toilet paper roll sculptures! So cool! Thanks for sharing that.
Well Susan, let's just say that toilet paper roll paper cover paper tastes more like cig rolling paper than does Bible paper. . . . .:=\
Wesman interesting stuff! Have to ask did the paper work well for the cigarettes?
Rosie thanks so much for the thumbs up.
Jagaplanet glad you found this interesting :)
hillrider thanks for stopping by
diane me too!
Stina thanks I will take Charmin and Cottenelle any day over the Aussie "Sandy"
When I once spent six months in a "special resort" community for poor people who'd had issues with police; I found that the term "I 45" did not refer to just the nearby interstate highway. No no. "I 45" was what we called the paper that covered TP rolls, and when we'd smuggle some of that paper into our "communal living centers" we'd use it to smoke cigarettes with. . . .now, getting tobacco in those "communal quarters" was a whole different game. . . .
Hiya Susan, oh what a great hub on the history of toilet paper. Yes, we kinda ignore the toilet paper until we run out of it and then we panic! thumbs up and awesome
Have a nice day,
Rosie
Wow! pretty interesting article. I keep learning something new everyday.
Silly of course but informative ...
Loved it! TP is the probably one of the most underappreciated thing we have. I'm so glad I don't have to use corn cobs...or my left hand! Great hub!
Great hub! It really makes you appreciate the little things in life!
MarieAlice. Yes very Lucky!
we are lucky to have this luxury!!!
This is great, I love the videos. It makes me appreciate my Charmin more than ever.
Thanks Chatkath.
Thank you for some funny and interesting history Susan, very well done Hub on such a taken-for-granted topic!
Rated up!!!!
Thank you so much Genna.
I just love these hubs...another winner ,Susan. :)
Sue somehow I knew you would like this one :) I am going to make some of this toilet paper lol Thanks for reading.
As you can imagine.. I completely loved this hub!!! I had wondered about the history of toilet paper. I know now why they shake hands with the right hand in the east!
I love, love, LOVED the Aussie video. If I knew where to get some of that toilet paper, I would so get some for my husband!!
voted up and awesome and liked! This was great!!
fastfreta, The Aussie video I suppose is a different sense of humor. Thanks for stopping by.
Merlin, Thank you so much for adding to my hub! My Dad was in the Canadian Navy and I have to say I never heard about the Soft Bum Boys .... That's funny!
Jane glad you enjoyed the Chaser Video :)
prasetio, Thanks so much.
Princessa, It would be hard to live without toilet paper.
Pamela,ImChemist and cheapsk8chick, Thank you for reading and for your comments.
This is cute Susan, nice trivia. I'm from the Sears catalog era. I must admit I don't get the Aussie video. Very good, voted up.
Did you forgot that there was a variety of toilet paper in between cut up squares of newspaper and the soft tissue of today... with or without Aloe Vera.
This was like grease proof paper on a roll, zero absorbency, and was about as much use a chocolate teapot. This was standard military issue, except on submarines they got the good stuff which was why in the Navy they were always referred to as the Soft Bum Boys, (and not for any other reason that I was aware of ! ) Every sheet of this paper had the words ‘Government Property’ written on it as if anyone would steal it... It made great tracing paper but other than that it was unfit for purpose.
We use to refer to it as ‘John Wayne Toilet Paper,’ because it was Rough and Tough and didn’t take no Sh*t....
Just thought you needed to know this, now your history is complete !
It's amazing how many things were invented by the Chinese, so I'm not at all surprised to hear they came up with toilet paper. Thanks for the interesting history.
Great to see the Chaser team in the bottom video..haha
This is a great history. I never knew about this before. Thanks for share with us. This was a valuable information. Good work, Susan. Vote up. Take care!
Prasetio
I always wondered...
I have actually seen cut newspaper into handy squares hanging from a hook in the toilet in Peru. I must say it was in the jungle (yes, they get newspaper in the jungle too) and it was more than 20 years ago!
Thank goodness for the soft toilet paper that we can get now!
susan, I now know more than I ever hoped to about toilet paper. Your hub was really interesting and I'm glad I live in a world with the real thing! :-)
very helpful hub , thanks for sharing it. rated
I had an auntie who used newspaper. Always. I hated "going" over there as a kid!
Will, I was going to add the corncob as well as leaves and other handy stuff maybe I should of. Thanks for reading.
Not so long ago, people in the midwest used corncobs in lieu of expensive toilet paper. I guess that what you would call 'roughing it'!
Just Ask Susan Hub Author 5 weeks ago
sedotwc, Thank you.