Is Toilet Paper the Greatest Invention Ever?

    When the coronavirus hit in March, shoppers rushed to stores. In days, supplies began to disappear. Face masks vanished. Flour flew off the shelves. And one item was extra hard to find—toilet paper. 

    Everyone, it seemed, had the same fear. We’d all be staying home to try to stop the virus from spreading. And we would not be able to wipe our butts.

    When the coronavirus hit in March, shoppers rushed to stores. In days, supplies began to disappear. Face masks were gone. Flour was gone. And one item was extra hard to find—toilet paper.

    It seemed we all had the same fear. We’d be staying home to try to stop the virus from spreading. And we would not be able to wipe our butts.

    When the coronavirus hit in March, shoppers rushed to stores. In days, supplies began to disappear. Face masks vanished, and flour flew off the shelves. One item became particularly hard to find—toilet paper.

    Everyone, it seemed, had the same fear: We’d all be staying home to try to prevent the virus from spreading, and we wouldn’t be able to wipe our butts.

    For most of human history, people didn’t worry about running out of toilet paper. That’s because they didn’t use it at all. 

    Two thousand years ago, ancient Romans pooped in public bathrooms.     They wiped with a sponge attached to the end of a stick. When they were done, they washed the sponge in vinegar or saltwater. Then they left it for the next person to use.

    People who didn’t feel like sharing had other choices. A handful of leaves or moss would do the job. Stones, shells, and even corncobs worked well enough. Sailors used the end of a rope dipped in saltwater. Sometimes, in winter, snow was the only option.

    Paper was invented 2,200 years ago in China. Mostly it was used for writing. But old books often found a place in the bathroom. In the 1800s, Americans read The Old Farmer’s Almanac to learn about gardening and the weather. Then they made sure the pages didn’t go to waste—by using them to wipe!

    For most of human history, people didn’t worry about running out of toilet paper. That’s because they didn’t use it.

    Two thousand years ago, ancient Romans pooped in public bathrooms. They wiped with a sponge attached to a stick. When they were done, they washed the sponge in vinegar or saltwater. Then they left it for the next person to use.

    People who didn’t want to share had other choices. They used leaves or moss. They used stones, shells, or corncobs. Sailors used the end of a rope dipped in saltwater. In winter, people used snow.

    Paper was invented 2,200 years ago in China. Mostly it was used for writing. But old books often found a place in the bathroom. In the 1800s, Americans read The Old Farmer’s Almanac to learn about gardening and the weather. Then they used the pages to wipe!

    For most of human history, people didn’t worry about running out of toilet paper. That’s because they didn’t use it at all.

    Two thousand years ago, ancient Romans pooped in public bathrooms. They wiped with a sponge attached to the end of a stick. When they were finished, they washed the sponge in vinegar or saltwater and left it for the next person to use.

    People who didn’t feel like sharing had other choices. A handful of leaves or moss worked reasonably well, as did stones, shells, and even corncobs. Sailors used the end of a rope dipped in saltwater. Sometimes, in the winter, snow was the only option.

    Paper was invented 2,200 years ago in China. It was used mainly for writing, but old books often found a place in the bathroom. In the 1800s, Americans read The Old Farmer’s Almanac to get information about gardening and the weather. Then they made sure the pages didn’t go to waste—by using them to wipe!

    The Chinese made the first real toilet paper about 700 years ago. But it wasn’t used outside of China until the 1850s. That’s when an American named Joseph Gayetty started selling “medicated paper.” His ads said it was the only safe way to wipe. Ink from printed paper was poisonous, he claimed. His product, on the other hand, was “pure as snow.” 

    It took a few decades for toilet paper to catch on. But today, Americans swear by it. We spend about $6 billion a year to clean our behinds. That’s more than any other country in the world. 

    The Chinese made the first real toilet paper about 700 years ago. But it was used only in China. Then, in the 1850s, an American named Joseph Gayetty started selling “medicated paper.” His ads said it was the only safe way to wipe. Ink from printed paper was poisonous, he claimed. He said his product was “pure as snow.”

    It took a few decades for toilet paper to catch on. But now, Americans love it. We spend about $6 billion a year on it. That’s more than any other country in the world.

    The Chinese made the first real toilet paper about 700 years ago, but it wasn’t used outside of China until the 1850s. That’s when an American named Joseph Gayetty started selling “medicated paper.” According to Gayetty’s advertisements, this paper was the only safe way to wipe. Ink from printed paper was poisonous, he claimed, while his product was “pure as snow.”

    It took a few decades for toilet paper to become popular—but today, Americans swear by it. We spend about $6 billion a year to clean our backsides. That’s more than any other country in the world.