Why did the West historically used Toilet Pape as opposed to Eastern cultures?

BossaNova

Banned
Well to be fair, most westerners - unlike most "easterners" - don't have shag carpets for ass hair so it's not quite the same situation. Also, we flush the paper instead of having a separate trash for used tp (I'm not kidding here - when I was in Qatar, I saw entire trash cans filled to the brim with used, shit-stained toilet paper. It was the foulest thing I ever smelled. From that point, I refused to be lectured about personal hygiene by people from countries or cultures where the above is the norm).
 
It was a thing before that. The Newspaper/Broadsheet, Old Farmer’s Almanac and Sears Roebuck catalog had another use, and was looked on as better than moss, corncobs, leaves and grass for your two holer out on the prairie
In other words, a highly developed paper industry? That is something to think about.


Also, we flush the paper instead of having a separate trash for used tp (I'm not kidding here - when I was in Qatar, I saw entire trash cans filled to the brim with used, shit-stained toilet paper.
Perhaps using cheaper paper means more clogged up crappers.
 

Nick P

Donor
In other words, a highly developed paper industry? That is something to think about.

Perhaps using cheaper paper means more clogged up crappers.

It's not so much the quality of the paper but more the drainage system itself and the availability of water. I've noticed on holiday in Mediterranean islands that the water supply is often salt water or collected rain water and that the waste pipes are known to clog up with excessive paper. The toilets flush with a low amount of water as an economy measure. If you can't afford to pour away lots of water then blockages will form.

I'd say that using cheaper paper would actually be better as it breaks up easier, the strong quality stuff I prefer probably clumps up. :closedtongue:
 

Towelie

Banned
This is an area that I've never really even thought of before. If you don't use toilet paper, what are you using? Like, a stream of water or a bidet or something like that might clean, but do they dry it afterwards? If not, isn't that really uncomfortable?
 
It was a thing before that. The Newspaper/Broadsheet, Old Farmer’s Almanac and Sears Roebuck catalog had another use, and was looked on as better than moss, corncobs, leaves and grass for your two holer out on the prairie
IIRC there were leaflets in 18th century Britain warning people that it was a crime in Scotland to use pictures of the Hanoverians in papers as toilet paper.
 
In Cambodia we use bidets, they have good water pressure and I think it works a little better than toilet paper.

That being said, a lot of people are real unsanitary, especially in the countryside where there is no running water. They use their hands, and don't wash them. They think the reason they get sick is that their Chinese ancestors are not being prayed to enough. Boy, do I hate syncretism.

Toilet paper is more convenient, and to be honest, you can pretty much be just as thorough without shooting water all over the place.

In the end of the day, I think the proper bidet is better, but in public toilets I prefer something that wasn't inches away from a stranger's private parts.
 
This is an area that I've never really even thought of before. If you don't use toilet paper, what are you using? Like, a stream of water or a bidet or something like that might clean, but do they dry it afterwards? If not, isn't that really uncomfortable?
In the Philippines it's your fingers and a bucket of water.
 
And actually, water here is more sanitary than in India.
Washing your arses off with water doesn't actually kill babies, mind you.
I never said it did kill babies. I think you're mistaking me for someone else. Although I admit I agree with the premises that you better be using soap and water to wash your hands after it if you are.. otherwise yes it will kill your baby.
 
I never said it did kill babies. I think you're mistaking me for someone else. Although I admit I agree with the premises that you better be using soap and water to wash your hands after it if you are.. otherwise yes it will kill your baby.
Sorry, I'm pertaining to someone I'm offended to.
 
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