You'll Never Guess What People Used To Wipe Themselves With Before Toilet Paper!
It's a no from me dawg
5 July 2022
Amber Lowther
Where would we be without toot paper? Likely up s**t creek without a paddle! We can't imagine a world where we don't have toilet paper, so it blows our minds to find what humans used to use to give themselves a good ol' wipe.
Modern toilet paper wasn't widespread until the mid-19th century, and before that, different tools and techniques were used.
Now, Who Gives A Crap has explored the weirdest ways people use to clean themselves after using the loo!
Corn cobs: Dried corn cobs were plentiful in rural agrarian societies – from colonial Americans to ancient Mayans — the corncob worked by turning on its axis to clean the region. The more you know!
Seashells:People living in coastal regions used seashells, oyster shells and clamshells for their wiping needs. That hurts just reading it!
Pottery shards:A broken shard of pottery worked the same as a seashell. Ancient Greeks utilised this technique and would sometimes inscribe the names of their enemies before using. OMG!
Snow:Inuit and other populations that lived in Arctic regions used snow and ice for their wiping needs. That will be a cold shock to the nether region!
Telephone books:Until relatively recently, TP was considered a luxury in many places. People without underground plumbing would wipe with telephone books, catalogues and old newspaper. We're getting closer!
A sponge:The ancient (and wealthy) Romans used what’s called a “xylospongium”, which is essentially a sponge on a stick, which was washed in a bucket of salt water or vinegar after each use. This ain't half bad.
Trees:Traditional toilet paper has a huge impact on deforestation. Globally, more than 1.9 million trees need to be cut down each day to create enough traditional TP to satisfy the world’s bums – the equivalent land as 45 Sydney Opera Houses.