What Did People Wipe With In The Past And Why Is The World Moving Beyond Toilet Paper?
Toilet paper is modern and isn't the best option
There was a weird focus on toilet paper at the start of the Covid pandemic, with lots of people panic-buying and hoarding the stuff. At least, that was the case in large chunks of the world. I live in Southeast Asia, however, and there was no such panic. Nor was there any in the Middle East, or countries like Japan, Italy, India, and numerous other places.
The reason for this is that people in this part of the world prefer to use water to clean their posteriors. Most toilets here have a hose — sometimes nicknamed a ‘bum gun’ — and it is a lot more hygienic.
Whenever there’s some kind of global or national panic and my screen is filled with hordes of people fighting over bog roll, I often wonder what people have used throughout history and what they will use in the future. I have a weird mind. I finally did some research, and it was surprisingly fascinating.
I discovered that in the West, the use of toilet paper is relatively recent and only gained widespread popularity in the 20th century. Whereas in China, they have been fans of the stuff since at least the 6th century.
I also found out that a change is underway that may even help save the planet.
But first things first: what did people use around the world before toilet paper was popular?
Pre-history and those without running water
Throughout history, from the early Homo sapiens to the present day, those without access to running water and toilet facilities have just used what is most readily available and to hand.
This included moss, sand, stones, leaves, water and even seashells. As society developed, richer types took to using precursors to toilet paper, such as lace and wool.
Some groups use methods that are unsurprising considering the environment. The Inuit, for example, use snow. Sailors have generally defecated overboard, usually at the front or ‘head’ of a vessel, and use things like frayed ropes and seawater to clean up.
This use of whatever is abundant and nearby essentially sums up what humanity has utilised for most of its history. However, as civilisations developed, so too did their wiping preferences.
The Ancient Romans and Greeks
The tersorium doesn’t sound nice
The Romans, being inventive, created something called a tersorium to complete their ablutions. While that sounds impressive because it is Latin, it was basically a sponge that was soaked in salt water or vinegar and tied to a stick.
They did, however, have public toilets with running water. These included a trough in which the Romans could clean the tersorium. The toilets had the added bonus that they didn’t need to flush.
Wealthy Romans had their own personal tersorium, while those less well-off unfortunately had to share. Predictably, public toilets and sharing the sponge stick led to a significant spread of disease.
A Pessoi
Archaeologists have also found samples of ‘pessoi’ at both Ancient Greek and Roman sites. These are small round stones or pieces of ceramic whose use you can probably guess at.
In Greece, pessoi have been found with people’s names written on them. This suggests that the Greeks would write the names of their enemies on the stone and then… show their true feelings about them.
The Chinese invented toilet paper
China has invented a lot of things. However, in 1992, archaeologists excavating a former Silk Road pit stop in northwest China discovered that the ancient Chinese had devised a remarkably similar solution to the Romans and Greeks.
In an unearthed ‘latrine area’, they found bamboo and wooden sticks that were wrapped in cloth and covered in what microscopic analysis proved to be human excrement. However, others in the country were more innovative.
In the tomb of the second-century emperor Wu Di, archaeologists found hemp paper. Research has suggested that this paper was too crude and rough for writing, and so it was probably an early type of toilet paper.
Further evidence of China's invention of toilet paper comes from the fact that the first mentions of it appear in 6th-century AD accounts of Imperial Courts in China.
They were also the first to mass-produce toilet paper. In 1393, roughly 450 years before the Western world, China began to mass produce rice-based toilet paper for the Imperial family.
Not everyone was a fan of this. In the 8th century, a traveller from the Middle East noted:
“They (the Chinese) are not careful about cleanliness, and they do not wash themselves with water when they have done their necessities; but they only wipe themselves with paper.”
The Middle East and India use water
Water has always been the main method of cleanliness for huge swathes of the planet. In certain areas, water use has been combined with a specific hand. The left hand, to be precise. So being a lefty needed a bit of concentration as greeting others or eating was strictly a right-handed endeavour.
These regions remain areas where the use of water is the predominant and preferred method.
America, pre-toilet paper
Native Americans and European settlers were big fans of using corn cobs. They were abundant and convenient after all. If none were available, then any plant was ok.
These were replaced after the printing press made catalogues such as Sears and Roebucks readily available. The Farmers Almanac even came with a hole in the corner to make it easier to hang, read, and then use.
The Western world gets its first mass-produced toilet paper
An American named Joseph Gayetty is credited with inventing the first commercially available toilet paper in 1857. Remarkably, ‘Gayetty’s medicated paper for the water-closet’ was sold in packages of aloe-soaked sheets, something that wouldn’t happen again until the 1990s.
The packs had 500 sheets and sold for 50 cents, about $14 in today's money, and consequently weren’t all that popular. Why pay so much when it was previously free?
Ten years later, the Scott brothers started selling rolls of soft, aloe-free toilet paper, which were considerably cheaper and sold well. The advent of indoor toilets and plumbing systems further raised the popularity of their products. The lack of nature to wipe on while indoors made the paper popular and prevented clogging of the pipes, unlike the catalogues.
Splinter-free toilet paper
Although the Scott brothers helped promote the product, it didn’t really become popular until the mid-1930s. An increase in indoor bathrooms is one explanation. Another is explained by the appearance of alarming adverts in the 30s for ‘splinter-free’ toilet paper. Previous manufacturing techniques had been unable to remove the splinters and must have led to some painful toilet visits.
Now that toilet paper could be mass-produced and was blessedly free of splinters, its popularity took off and remains so to this day.
Toilet paper is often hoarded in a crisis, like the panic of 1973
The pandemic and mass hoarding of toilet paper show just how popular a product it is. Even in areas like Southeast Asia, it is used for drying after toilet ablutions and as a cheap serviette in restaurants.
The scenes of pandemonium in early 2020 aren’t the first time people have panicked over a toilet roll. In Japan in 1973, middle-class Japanese grew increasingly concerned over post-war hopes for prosperity and stability, sparked by increasing inflation and the oil crisis. In the modern world, in times of crisis, it seems that stockpiling toilet paper becomes a primary concern, and Japan was no exception.
The Japanese hoarding of toilet rolls prompted a Wisconsin congressman to issue a warning about a potential shortage in the USA. People were mildly concerned but, at first, nothing approaching panic.
Then, comedian Johnny Carson made a joke about toilet paper disappearing from supermarket shelves on The Tonight Show and full-fledged hysteria ensued. Shops tried to ration it, but by noon the next day, nearly all shops had sold out of the stuff.
Carson hurriedly explained that it was a joke and apologised, but the toilet paper shortage lasted three weeks.
Dependence on toilet paper should change
In the West, toilet paper usage has only been around for 150 years. It has been less than 90 years since we developed the technology to make it splinter-free. It is relatively new, but is already seen as essential.
However, it doesn’t seem sustainable any more. According to the environmental research organisation Worldwatch Institute, citing the World Wildlife Foundation, global toilet paper production results in the loss of approximately 27,000 trees per day, which translates to nearly 9 million trees per year. (Source based on figures from 2014.)
Not only is it unsustainable, but it is also leading to the cutting down of trees at a time we really need them.
A more recent article in the Guardian in 2020:
If Americans gave up toilet paper, they could keep 15m trees from being turned into pulp every year. Instead of deforesting Canada’s boreal forest, one of the largest carbon stores on the planet would be preserved.
The future of backside hygiene is here, and Covid accelerated its use
In huge chunks of Asia and the Middle East, ‘bum guns’ are common. It’s essentially a hose that sits by the toilet that washes you clean. Japanese toilets often both spray you and then have a mini blow dryer for after.
In countries such as Italy and France, the bidet is hugely popular. This idea is gaining popularity, particularly since the onset of the pandemic.
Jason Ojalvo, the CEO of Tushy, a bidet company in the US, reported that in the first week of March 2020, sales suddenly doubled.
“Then two days later they were triple what they usually are, and then suddenly it was 10 times what normal sales are. A few days later it peaked at a million-dollar sales per day.”
Similarly, after the outbreak began, another bidet brand, Brondell, was selling around 1,000 units a day on Amazon. The US site Bidetking.com has reported that sales continued to grow by 20% every year since the pandemic, with a closer to 30% increase in 2023.
Weirdly, using a hose or bidet uses less water
Using water to clean up is better for the environment as well. Unless you have an advanced Japanese toilet, you will still need paper to dry off. But you use a lot less — in fact, roughly 80% less.
It seems counterintuitive, but bidets also use less water. An article in Scientific American points out that manufacturing a single roll of toilet paper requires 37 gallons of water and 1.3KWh of electricity. In contrast, a single use of a bidet uses an eighth of a gallon of water. Additionally, manufacturing toilet paper needs hundreds of tons of chlorine, plastic packaging, and fuel used for shipping.
Make the switch - it is healthier, cleaner, and better for the environment
Since moving to Southeast Asia, I have become a firm convert to using water instead of toilet paper. It seems weird at first, but you soon get used to it. I now prefer it. Not only is it a lot more hygienic, but it’s better for the planet and more sustainable.
So, to help Mother Earth and give a bidet or hose a try. Or you could use a sponge on a stick, a piece of pottery, or a dried corn cob. It’s up to you.
I know what I’m opting for.
Thank you for this insightful article, I never knew about the environmental impact of toilet paper. Here in Tanzania, water based cleaning is currently the norm and it’s refreshing to see the global shift toward more sustainable (and hygienic) practices.