Since toilet paper has been in our lives for more than 200 years, we can no longer imagine a life without it. More than 30 billion rolls of toilet paper are produced every year. We also told about the change and history of toilet paper, one of the products most affected by the global economic crisis, from the past to the present. Let’s take you here for the details 👇
The human body has remained the same as a working principle from the past to the present. After a good meal, two to three hours later, we expel that food from our body through feces. But toilet paper has only been in our lives for 200 years. So what did our ancestors use instead of toilet paper?
In ancient times, the Chinese used paper.
These papers were much softer than the normal papers we know, and if you were a member of the imperial palace, these papers would even be perfumed. The first written reference to the use of toilet paper in China dates back to 589 AD. But the Chinese were 2 BC. yy.because of the invention of paper in 589 AD, they probably used paper for toilet purposes before .
The ancient Romans used a stick called ‘xylospongium’ with a sponge on the end. After this soft tool was used, it was kept in a bucket full of vinegar so that the next person could use it as well.
The ancient Greeks used stone and ceramic pieces.
As you can imagine, these stones have caused skin irritations and hemorrhoids.
The ancient Japanese used wooden skewers known as ‘chuugi’.
In addition to the items and tools mentioned above, people used everything that was ready, such as water, grass, wool, clothes, leaves, snow, sand, corncobs, and even seashells.
First of all, Joseph C. Gayetty began selling papers made specifically for toilet paper in 1857. This product consisted of individual sheets of paper in a box. He also mixed it with aloe vera extracts and added a watermark along with his last name.
in 1871, Seth Wheeler patented perforated toilet paper.
in 1890, the Scott Paper Company began selling toilet paper in rolls.
in 1930, the Northern Tissue Company began selling grain-free toilet paper.
in 1942, there was almost a revolution.
St Andrew’s Paper Mill from the UK has introduced ‘Andrex’, the first two-layer toilet paper. Andrex was also a soft toilet paper.
Different visions for toilet paper have been tried.
in 1954, the Northern Tissue Company began selling the first colored toilet paper.
in 1955, the Scott Paper Company advertised toilet paper on television for the first time.
The Arab-Israeli War in 1973 caused an oil crisis in Japan, which triggered rumors that the country was about to run out of toilet paper. Japanese housewives responded to these rumors by frantically buying toilet paper. Hundreds of them used to wait in front of the shops every day to buy as many rolls as they could. On December 19, 1973, American comedian Johnny Carson joked on The Tonight Show about running out of toilet paper in the United States, which caused panic and a shortage of toilet paper.
Carson later apologized for this joke and expressed hope that people would not remember him as someone who triggered the toilet paper crisis.
In addition, the production of toilet paper has a great impact on the environment. Every day, 27 thousand trees are cut down for the production of toilet paper. Will we have to give up toilet paper to save our planet? After all, humanity has survived for thousands of years without toilet paper…
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