January 4, 2025 • 32 mins
Whether you're royalty or a roaming vagrant, a President or a pauper, one thing's for sure: At some point, you'll have to use the restroom. While sanitation isn't often brought up in polite conversation, it plays a vital role in human health, and over the centuries various civilizations have come up with some pretty innovative ways of staying clean. Globally speaking, the bidet is one of humanity's most popular sanitation technologies -- it's spread across Europe to Asia and beyond. So why don't Americans use these? Join Ben and Noel as they crack the case in this Classic episode.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fellow ridiculous historians. We are a family show. We welcome
you gratefully. We are so excited that you have joined
us for this classic episode, and we want you to
know before you get into it, there are going to
be a lot of poop jokes in this one.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, there was no way around it. You know, it's
kind of funny, man. Last week's classic episode was about
showing your butt. This week's is about washing it.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
We had a phase, we had a day.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
It was a fut phase. And we also referenced this
episode quite a lot as a good example of native advertising.
Because I'm not mistaken, man, We did successfully pitch this
to a bidet company who sponsored it back in the
bidet when and when it originally came out that will
have been stripped out by now, but you know it
(00:47):
was I think a Tushy sponsored episode.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yes, Tushy, a supplier of Bedazz. Now, let me take
a moment, fellow ridiculous historians, to give some credit where
it's due. It's very important to me, Noel. You and
I were working on this episode. Why don't Americans use
the days? And you are the guy who came to
me and said, hey man, Hey man, what if we
(01:14):
reached out to a bidet company and I'm the guy
who said, wait, holy smokes, can we do that? And
you said, what's the worst that could happen?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I don't know if that's how it went down or
not been, but it has become codified in the lore
of this show. So I thank you for the credit
where it may or may not be due, but that
is absolutely what happened. To some degree. We did pitch
it and they did bite, but most importantly, we got
to talk about bidets. I am a huge bidet fan,
not just saying that because of a sponsor.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And prolegmatic way everybody.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Do not I want a problematic way is there. They're great,
They're just I mean, come on, let's be honest, Ben,
Wiping your butt with dry toilet paper is weird and
a huge waste of resources.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I spend a lot of time in countries where bidets
are crazy common, and I just got to tell you, guys,
Japan is pooping in the future.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Oh yeah, man, I finally upgraded and got myself a
Toto washlets and it's changed my life. And just to
jump in here for a second, I just want to
make sure that it's known that we're three for three.
Toilet paper is barbaric, It really.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Is, unanimously. Yeah, whether you are royalty or a roaming vagrant,
at some point you will have to poop. And the
study of sanitation is a study of civilization. In this
classic episode, well in this classic episode, we ask ourselves
(02:43):
about how to poop.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Right, let's roll that beautiful bidet footage.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome to the show,
(03:19):
fellow Ridiculous Historians. We'd like to start today's episode with
just a couple of statistics, some of which may surprise
you. You're gonna give us the straight poop, Ben, I am,
I am. And by the way, and yeah your nol
I'm Ben. That's our super producer, Casey Pegram, saving the
show every time we are here in the booth with you. So,
(03:41):
first things first, the average American uses twenty three point
six rolls of toilet paper per year per capita. Huh,
which doesn't seem like that much right now. It doesn't
until you consider that there are over three hundred million
people in the US.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Ah, yeah, we're lousy with people.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And that makes a total of seven point four billion
rolls of toilet paper used in the US each year.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
You ever, just think about just picture everyone in the world.
But you know what kind of blows the mind a
little bit, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
But some people will think it's particularly cheeky of us
to have back to back episodes related to butts, or
should we say cheek to cheek?
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, you know, like the way you dance with the
lady in Red.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
You know, thanks for classing that up, man. We seriously,
I think we need as much class as we can
get in this episode. The average American uses fifty percent
more TP than people in Western Europe and Japan, and
there's a big reason for that, which is the subject
of our episode today, which.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
By the way, yes, let me tell you we are
excited about this for a couple of reasons. I don't
know if you guys know what custom content is. That's
sort of the industry buzzword for when you make a
piece of content for a company, which is kind of
what we're doing today. But it's totally awesome because I
am just a huge fan of Bedeys, first of all,
(05:08):
and I'm a huge fan of this company that is
sponsored this episode, a company called Tushy who actually sent
us these bidets. And I will tell you, my friend,
my butt has never been cleaner, my disposition has never
been sunnier. I'm just loving life, and the beday life
is the life for me, my friend.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yeah, it's a brand new bidet.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Get it. I see what you did there. That's gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
We've been throwing that around.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Although apparently I saw an Englishman talking about it and
he pronounces it b day.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Yeah, I saw. I saw the same video. Now let's
continue peeking behind the curtain here because I want to
assure you friends and neighbors that my co host enthusiasm
is genuine and sincere.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I literally talk about it all the time.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
It's weird, it gets weird sometimes. But but oh but
oh this is gonna be ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
That's fun. I'm having it already.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
So our in another show that we do stuff they
don't want you to know, with our illustrious, amazing co
host Matt Frederick. We actually also did the day sponsorship.
We did some ads for them, but this episode came
about because we reached out to them and said, we're
(06:17):
gonna do this anyway. Do you guys want to hang out? Basically,
and we're so glad that when we reached out to them. Yeah,
we did it, Yeah, because it just made sense and
it's like podcast need sponsors.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, why not. There's a match made in but heaven.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Because we're also we're also fairly silly, a juvenile for
two grown men.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
You know what, I'm never gonna let that boyish, potty
mind die.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Heck yeah, banger rang, That's what I say. So we
started investigating the history of this, and just at the
very front of the episode, we want to point out
the following. Although it can seem very hilarious and silly,
you know what, arg you rightfully so to talk about
(07:07):
these kinds of these kinds of gadgets and the techniques
people use to stay clean across the world. The truth
of the matter is that sanitation is a tremendously important
thing throughout history and in the modern day.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, have we talked about the fact that today in
San Francisco, specifically, I saw an interview with the head
of their sanitation it costs something like a million dollars
a month or something like that just to clean out
their sewage system.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, there are a lot of people and those those
costs aren't really going to go down.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Well, it's because of this thing. If if you heard
of this, it's called a fat berg. You know what
a fat is. It's the collection of like grease and
dirt and hair, toilet paper, toilet paper especially wipes that
you're not supposed to flush, shanitary products, condoms, absolutely, just
all the stuff that you're not supposed to flush, and
that's a huge infrastructure costs. I actually saw an article
(08:03):
about one of these fatbergs that was so massive in London.
It was the size of like a double decker bus.
They removed it and they put it under glass in
a museum.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yes, yeah, and it looks just as disgusting as you
might imagine. You can find it. You can find this
article online and you don't have to take our word
for it. The only recommendation we would make before you
read the article is to be sure that.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
You are not eating as you peruse it. They call
it the Whitechapel Monster, which is such a cool name.
And in England, London rather a Thames Water, which is
the company that operates the water system there in London,
spends a million pounds a month just to clear these
kinds of blockages.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And it's a constant battle. It's not like they're getting
ahead of the problem. It's strange because we spend so
little time thinking about how important sanitation is, especially in
a world where the majority of people now officially live
in urban areas. So this fatberg stuff, this problem with
(09:14):
sewage infrastructure, it's not going to go away. For most
of our listeners here in the US, A bid day,
which you've probably heard of before, sounds like a very
you know, fancy pinkies up European thing, right, you would
associate it with an upper crust lifestyle. That's reason, and
there's a great reason for that. So let's turn back
(09:38):
the clock. Let's travel to France sixteenth century. Maybe that's right,
the sixteenth century. You see, in the fifteen hundreds, bid
day was a word referring to a specific type of pet,
a pony, to be absolutely specific about it, and these
ponies were kept by French roy The word midday itself
(10:02):
originates from an old French word which I graphically mispronouncing, bideer,
which means to trot.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
And these, you know, I'm picturing these fancy frenchmen and
women in their finery trotting around on these dainty little ponies,
perhaps with ringlets in their manes, you know, flowing locks,
flowing locks bedecked with little little bows. Maybe I don't know,
white stockings, whatever. Man, I'm at a we're editorializing here,
but I'm just painting a picture. Okay, it's for effect.
(10:34):
But it wasn't until the sixteen hundreds that the bidet
as we know it, the b day whatever was kind
of came into fruition. But it wasn't what we know
today today's bedey.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
It was it today's day.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
It was the mid day of yesterday, and it was
really just like a sink. It looked like a chair.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So yeah, let's let's take a closer look at these
days of yesterday. The apparatus itself was resembled in some
ways an ottoman, an ornamental automan. The basin was set
within wooden furniture and bidets themselves. You will hear different
(11:17):
contradicting claims about whether there were was a single inventor
or whether there were multiple people to whom the idea
occurred around the same time. But one thing for sure
we know is that they were furniture makers, because these
things were set into wooden furniture.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
And the thing about that too is there's a reason
for that, Ben, because these were not in bathrooms, because
they didn't have indoor plumbing, the idea of a bathroom
would be more likely. It would be like in your chamber.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Pot it was just a bucket under your bed.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
And p in two or in your dressing room or
what have you, your your what do you call your boudoir, right,
and the bidet would just be this little I'm like,
I'm thinking of it as like a nightstand kind of
with short legs, and this inlaid basin of water that
would just be filled up and you'd squad over it
and literally splash yourself manually, right.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And this would be I love the point you bring
up about there not being a separate bathroom or restroom.
So this would be either in the dressing chambers or
in the bedroom itself. And to keep it classy, would
often be a lid, something made of wood or wicker
or leather.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And a lot of this, you know, These furniture makers
would inlay these little basins into these wicker furniture, like
you were saying, Ben, and it was almost to like
disguise the function of the device.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, because it's it's a very intimate thing. You're already
in someone's bedroom and then you see how they handle
some very personal business. But I feel weird every time
we say, but I'm gonna get over this, I promise.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
However, I like it.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
There we go, good substitute, Thank you, thank you. However,
in the the origin story of the bidet, it is
inherently intertwined with the story of class in France. And
that is why, as we alluded to at the top
of the show, that is why bidets even today are
(13:17):
seen as this more upper crust, fancy thing. And you
start to see why this might not have taken off
in the United States quite as much because of that
association with almost hedonism, right, because soldiers would see these
when they were traveling around Europe during World War Two. Yeah,
(13:38):
and we want to give a shout out to the
Atlantic because there is a fantastic article we found called
the Bidet's Revival. In this article, author Maria Teresa Hart
explores not just the somewhat murky origin of the bidet,
but I would argue even more importantly the social role
it played. It occurred culture, it was found in paintings,
(14:02):
it was referenced by the most wealthy, successful people of
the time.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Even Marie Antoinette, as she awaited her uh he head
to be chopped off by the guillotine, was able to
get her golden crusted bidet in her cell because she
was that was like one of the comforts that she
was used to. Apparently she used to travel around with one,
had one made that would go in her coach. So
(14:28):
this was very much associated with like kind of the
upper crust. But then it filtered down to kind of
everyone eventually, right.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Well everyone in Europe, yea, and eventually Asia and elsewhere
everywhere except the United States.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And with this article does a fantastic job of doing
is kind of exploring why that might.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Be okay, real quick time. The first written reference to
the bidet itself is in seventeen twenty six in Italy.
But as we know, the first written reference doesn't mean
it wasn't around, right of course, It just meant that
(15:14):
we have surviving documentation of someone writing about it.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Oh and by those days been it was a fancier version.
It had like a pump with the water that would squirt,
you know, the more like las you didn't have to
splash that seems very messy and ineffective.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
So around this time from the seventeen hundreds on Europe
experiences what we can only call a bidet boom, a
boom of bidets.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
I love it. It sounds like a just an explosion of
bidets going everywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yes, watch out, they're flying through the air to a
home near you. And it spread to other social classes
in France, as you said, Noel, to other countries in
Western Europe, and then Latin America, the Middle East, Asia,
but not the US. And there's a weird there's a
weird reason for that, and we should explore that. You know,
while we're here at this point in space and time,
(16:04):
how did the US not jump on the day train?
How did they not straddle the biday trade?
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Ben. It's a good question because everything we've said up
to this point makes it sound like a pretty appealing
train to ride, right. You know, it helps the environment,
And we didn't even talk about how much water and
resources are used in making toilet paper and paper products
in general, right, right, and how much money it costs
some local and state governments to clean up these disgusting
(16:34):
blobs of congealed tpe and crap. That are clogging up
our source systems. And as a bidet user myself, I
can tell you, sir, it leaves you feeling fresh as
a daisy.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Well, they're more hygienic. That's part of it. That's a
big part of it, too big part.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
But despite this, despite these advantages and friends and neighbors,
you can tell that we have our we have a
pretty strong opinion about this stuff. But despite the advantages
that were inherently present in biday technology, they were thought
of as very dirty, filthy things to the US. Why
(17:12):
because in World War Two we've got Allied troops, US
troops stationed in Europe, right and they are visiting there's
no need to use the euphemism here. They are visiting bordellos.
They're visiting houses of prostitution, and they saw bidets and bathrooms,
which was a normal thing, but because of the location
(17:35):
they were at, they started to associate these with sex work.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Interesting. I feel like it's a little crappy of them
to judge, boy to judge when they're hanging out in
the bordellos, like what, they're good enough to pay for sex,
but they're like freaked out by their strange cleansing implement
and also.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
The process by which Biday cleanses someone after they have
used the restroom right or had intercourse or had intercourse.
Yet it's associated with a sexual aspect because you're washing
out genitalia, right.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
That's absolutely true. In fact, it was even associated with
birth control, and birth control in those days equals sin, helen, damnation.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
And we found a great quote from a birth control pioneer,
Norman Hare in nineteen thirty six.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Right, yeah, that's right. He says that in Anglo Saxon communities,
where bathrooms are notoriously cold and joyless rooms, lacking any
kind of warmth or decor, the very presence of a
bidet would have been regarded as like a symbol of sin, right.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Which is so strange because again we see this association
with hedonism, debauchery, and obscene wealth carrying over from this
seventeen hundreds to World War two.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Dude, that's right. This would have been way in like
the forties. So we've got the evolution of the bidet
kind of reaching its logical conclusion at this point where
you've got indoor plumbing at this point, so the bidet
has moved into the bathroom next to the toilet. It's
still a separate implement. And that's why a lot of
Americans when they see them, it's rife for comedy and like,
(19:24):
you know, euro vacation or somebody, someone ends up drinking
from the bidet and then making a joke about how, hey,
pretty cool y'all have water fountains in the bathroom here
they're kind of low though, Yeah, weird. I forget what that.
That's definitely in a movie and I can't remember which one.
Write us and let us know.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah, people getting squirted in the face and stuff. There's
another association that bidets had which worked against them, at
least in the US, and it is tied to the
misogyny of the time, and that is that they were
helpful in the process of menstruation.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
That's right, because there were no sanitary products in these days.
There's actually a really amazing sounding book called Unmentionable, The
Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manner. So this
is we're going back a little bit, but this is
still doesn't get much better than this, and it talks
about how women to rid themselves of the product of menstruation,
(20:22):
the blood, would use what they referred to as jelly rags,
and it was literally just a piece of fabric that
they would use to physically wipe this area. And that
just sounds really unpleasant and messy. And the midday would
give you nice little spritz clean you right off. We
good to go for at least a little while, right right.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
And so it's strange now when we look back from
twenty eighteen that the ability to provide a more healthy
alternative in the process of menstruation was not seen as
a selling point. It was placed on the same level
as prostitution or unwanted pregnancy, to be delicate about it,
(21:06):
and these all became hindrances for the bid day itself
because they were inherently being linked in the American consumer's
mind with a bunch of things that at the time
people just did not speak of in public.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
We're kind of jumping all over the place a little bit,
which is fine, that's what we do. But if we
go back to nineteen twenty eight, according to this amazing
Atlantic article, there was actually a patent for a design
that's very similar to what we see in bidets today
by our buddy John Harvey Kellogg. You know, the corn
flakes and masturbation fame. Uh huh, corn flakes anti masturbation fame.
(21:48):
Excuse me, Well, he would he would take exception. He's
also a big fan of animas, which I think we
mentioned we did earlier episode Yogurts I believe. Yeah. Yeah,
weird guy, but forward thinking when it comes to washing
your butt.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
And he was American, Yeah, he was American, and his
very particular beliefs about how one would pursue personal health
obviously led him to design this thing. Now, there's no
two ways about it. Harvey Kellogg may have been really eccentric,
but he was also a brilliant person, so he would
(22:23):
have if the bidet had not already been invented centuries before,
he would have invented it in the US.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Oh dude, but I'm looking at this pattern right now.
It's a drawing. Yeah, it's just called J. H. Kellogg
anal douche. Yeah, sounds like it's this title and it's
it's it's like a nozzle. Sorry about John Harvey Kellogg
anal douche.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
And it's a it's a it's a nozzle.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
It's a nozzle that it kind of splits off from
the water supply that you would see. And it's the
same as and hasn't changed much, right, indoor plumbing. And
it goes up and kind of out from underneath the
toilet seat, and there's just a little fritz are nozzle
and you have a control with a valve, and it
fritz is you. And you might ask, isn't it gonna
go everywhere? No, sir or madam or whomever you're it's
(23:10):
blocked by your butt, goes in your butt. That's true.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Now, of course, we should also point out that these
things were not advertised as a complete replacement for the
use of toilet paper. They were in addition to so
you use much less toilet paper because one of the
questions people would have is how do you dry yourself off?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Right?
Speaker 1 (23:32):
That's dab. That's where that stuff comes into play. Yeah,
and you use so much less toilet paper. But still,
as we're in the twentieth century, early to mid twentieth century,
the days are seen as hedonistic European and I hope
you can hear the italics when we say it that way,
like ou la la right, exact European, and they seemed
(23:54):
set to remain a thoroughly Unamerican thing, but that didn't
stop people from trying to make bidet waves. There was
a guy named Arnold Cohen who was the founder of
the American Bidet Company because he created a specific type
of bidet for his father who was having some health problems.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Some memorhoids perhaps or rashes. Yeah. Yeah, where you can
get these like anth calm fishers that you can get
from having, you know, being unclean down there. It's bad times.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
And he ultimately had a very difficult time with this,
even though he was an experienced, veteran man in the
advertising industry. No matter what he did, he couldn't really
seem to get this off the ground. And in bathrooms
across America.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
We're in the sixties at this point.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
We're in the sixties, Yes, thank you, in nineteen sixty four,
and he did some out of the box stuff. He
went on his own initiative. He installed hundreds or thousands
of these all over New York.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, but unfortunately, this is one man going up against
big toilet paper, which is a thing. It is whenny
can we hear some stats about how much toilet paper
is sold, how much money is generated from toilet paper
in this country?
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Yeah, yeah, because we had the stats about how much
is used. I don't know how much is Yeah, let's
put some financial numbers on that.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Dude, this is insane. Okay. So Sharman Ultrasoft, which is
you know, you know, you know Sharman. They've been around
for a long time. They got a lot of brand recognition.
They're only the third most popular brand of toilet paper
in sales. They are Sharman Ultrasoft variety made more than
a billion dollars alone in twenty seventeen. Wow, the most
(25:36):
popular private label made one point seven billion dollars in
twenty seventeen. So when we say big toilet paper, we
are not kidding.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
It's a billion dollar, booming business but belligerately opposed bidets. Yes,
oh good, oh thanks man. Thanks, So we can tell
from those statistics, which are our really recent twenty seventeen
you said, right, yes, sir, So we can tell that
the battle between bidets and toilet paper did not work
(26:08):
out for bidets back in the sixties in the US.
But you know where it caught on you where Cohen
did find success for the American Bidet company.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
You tell Japan. Ah, that's right, because the Japanese were
importing a lot of American toilets because original Japanese toilets
were really uncomfortable. They were super low to the ground.
You had to squat, which now they've got these squatty
potties and they say that it's good for you. But
I don't know about all that. But the Japanese, being
very innovative people kind of really took that bidet design
(26:43):
that Kellogg patented so long ago and took it to
the next level. There's this company called Toto that makes
a product called the Washlet, which is a remote control
bidet with a heated seat that can be hot or cold.
The bedet stream can change directions you wanted to go
counterclockwise or clockwise, or give you a nice direct jet
(27:06):
kind of water pic vibe. But you can do that.
And these things are like thousands of dollars or some depends.
They're like the you know, luxury toilet.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Seats, but the bottom line one is maybe five hundred dollars,
which is still very expensive, very expense in comparison to
a regular commode.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Or you know, the amazing product from our pals at Tushie.
There we go, there we go.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
So we see that this technology originates in France and
proliferates throughout the world. But we also see that this
partially because of the cultural associations, I think more and
more frequently because of the price point. But days have
(27:52):
been you know, a distant second place in the story
of sanitation here in the US.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, you know how much toilet paper was sold in
Europe in twenty seventeen, much less than in the US
thirteen mil, relatively, dropping the dropping the chamber bucket.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Because we're talking there, we go, dropping the chamber five
because we're talking about a continent there that's not just
the country, that's Europe entire. And so this catches us
up to the modern day. And there's an excellent article
on our website HowStuffWorks dot Com by Alison Cooper called
the bidet Is it making a comeback? And it turns out,
(28:28):
as you and I have been talking about off air nol,
it turns out that, uh, the bidat may actually have
its time to shine here in the.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
States, to shine up our buttholes.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Yeah, man, that's that's the truth of the matter. And look,
we know this can sound.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
We know this.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
There we go, there we go, Oh my god, Well, done.
We know this can sound a little bit strange, but
the facts, the objective statistics, are on the side of
the argument that bidets are gaining ground here in the US.
And I think a huge part of that is because
(29:10):
for decades I assumed, and I think most everybody assumed
rightly so, that you would have to remodel your house,
you would have to install a new water line to
run to that biday, right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
But now thanks to our pals Tushy, he's got a
super low profile bidet attachment that has gained popularity. And
it's actually very similar to that patent from our buddy
Kellogg from nineteen thirty. It just splits off from the
existing water line. And look, we know, we know they're
sponsoring the show, but I really do It's a great
(29:45):
thing to have in your house. I'm a fan, and
I really hope the midday Revolution continues on full force
and I'll be leading the charge. My friend, I don't
know about you.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
It's a brand new beday in America. We got there, Noel,
we did, man.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
We hope that.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I think it's fairly obvious to everyone that we we
enjoyed ourselves so much on this episode. I'm Casey. I
am sure that you have cut out several solid minutes
of us just laughing at each.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Other, just saying but just saying butts. But we hang it.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
However, we hope you enjoyed this episode as much as
we enjoyed exploring it. And again, as funny and silly
as it may seem, as taboo as it may feel
to discuss these things, the truth of the matter is that,
for multiple reasons, the role of toilet paper, the role
(30:40):
of personal sanitation.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Roll of toilet paper.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Oh I just walked into that one it. Oh man,
thank you, No, I wouldn't have noticed that one these
these various factors come into play in a tremendously important way,
not just environmentalism, but also your own personal health.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I think those US versus European to the paper sales
stats speak volumes.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
So let us know what your experiences are like. We
have a lot of listeners from around the world. I'd
also be interested to hear from folks in Australia because
we didn't really explore Australia's sanitation in this episode.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, and does the water really turn down the drain
in the other direction? Let us know you can write
to us at Ridiculous at HowStuffWorks dot com. You can
hit us up on our Facebook page, or better yeah,
join our Facebook group, the Ridiculous Historians, where we get
into all kinds of fun stuff.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
We'd like to thank Casey Pegram for yet again saving
the show. We'd like to thank Alison Cooper and John
Donovan over at how Stuff Works.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
And Loriel Dove while we're at it, she didn't really
write anything today, but such a cool sound cue I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
We also want to thank Alex Williams who composed our track,
and most importantly, as we as we'd love to say
every episode, we'd like to thank you specifically you.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Buy does she be d by?
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Does oh nolsa?
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Subliminal? You like that?
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yeah, you're proselytizing. I know that's it for now, but
stay tuned for our next episode where we cover very
strange stories of voter fraud.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Oh yeah, we're talking election fraud in the eighteen hundreds.
That includes stuff ranging from all kinds of bad behavior, kidnapping,
forced intoxication.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
And my favorite one repeat voting in disguise.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
We can get a trench coat you can't make this
stuff up, and a fake mustache. Yes, yes, we'll see
then ridiculous historians. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Fellow ridiculous historians. We are a family show. We welcome
you gratefully. We are so excited that you have joined
us for this classic episode, and we want you to
know before you get into it, there are going to
be a lot of poop jokes in this one.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, there was no way around it. You know, it's
kind of funny, man. Last week's classic episode was about
showing your butt. This week's is about washing it.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
We had a phase, we had a day.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
It was a fut phase. And we also referenced this
episode quite a lot as a good example of native advertising.
Because I'm not mistaken, man, We did successfully pitch this
to a bidet company who sponsored it back in the
bidet when and when it originally came out that will
have been stripped out by now, but you know it
(00:47):
was I think a Tushy sponsored episode.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yes, Tushy, a supplier of Bedazz. Now, let me take
a moment, fellow ridiculous historians, to give some credit where
it's due. It's very important to me, Noel. You and
I were working on this episode. Why don't Americans use
the days? And you are the guy who came to
me and said, hey man, Hey man, what if we
(01:14):
reached out to a bidet company and I'm the guy
who said, wait, holy smokes, can we do that? And
you said, what's the worst that could happen?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I don't know if that's how it went down or
not been, but it has become codified in the lore
of this show. So I thank you for the credit
where it may or may not be due, but that
is absolutely what happened. To some degree. We did pitch
it and they did bite, but most importantly, we got
to talk about bidets. I am a huge bidet fan,
not just saying that because of a sponsor.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And prolegmatic way everybody.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Do not I want a problematic way is there. They're great,
They're just I mean, come on, let's be honest, Ben,
Wiping your butt with dry toilet paper is weird and
a huge waste of resources.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I spend a lot of time in countries where bidets
are crazy common, and I just got to tell you, guys,
Japan is pooping in the future.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Oh yeah, man, I finally upgraded and got myself a
Toto washlets and it's changed my life. And just to
jump in here for a second, I just want to
make sure that it's known that we're three for three.
Toilet paper is barbaric, It really.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Is, unanimously. Yeah, whether you are royalty or a roaming vagrant,
at some point you will have to poop. And the
study of sanitation is a study of civilization. In this
classic episode, well in this classic episode, we ask ourselves
(02:43):
about how to poop.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Right, let's roll that beautiful bidet footage.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome to the show,
(03:19):
fellow Ridiculous Historians. We'd like to start today's episode with
just a couple of statistics, some of which may surprise
you. You're gonna give us the straight poop, Ben, I am,
I am. And by the way, and yeah your nol
I'm Ben. That's our super producer, Casey Pegram, saving the
show every time we are here in the booth with you. So,
(03:41):
first things first, the average American uses twenty three point
six rolls of toilet paper per year per capita. Huh,
which doesn't seem like that much right now. It doesn't
until you consider that there are over three hundred million
people in the US.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Ah, yeah, we're lousy with people.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And that makes a total of seven point four billion
rolls of toilet paper used in the US each year.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
You ever, just think about just picture everyone in the world.
But you know what kind of blows the mind a
little bit, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
But some people will think it's particularly cheeky of us
to have back to back episodes related to butts, or
should we say cheek to cheek?
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, you know, like the way you dance with the
lady in Red.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
You know, thanks for classing that up, man. We seriously,
I think we need as much class as we can
get in this episode. The average American uses fifty percent
more TP than people in Western Europe and Japan, and
there's a big reason for that, which is the subject
of our episode today, which.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
By the way, yes, let me tell you we are
excited about this for a couple of reasons. I don't
know if you guys know what custom content is. That's
sort of the industry buzzword for when you make a
piece of content for a company, which is kind of
what we're doing today. But it's totally awesome because I
am just a huge fan of Bedeys, first of all,
(05:08):
and I'm a huge fan of this company that is
sponsored this episode, a company called Tushy who actually sent
us these bidets. And I will tell you, my friend,
my butt has never been cleaner, my disposition has never
been sunnier. I'm just loving life, and the beday life
is the life for me, my friend.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Yeah, it's a brand new bidet.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Get it. I see what you did there. That's gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
We've been throwing that around.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Although apparently I saw an Englishman talking about it and
he pronounces it b day.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Yeah, I saw. I saw the same video. Now let's
continue peeking behind the curtain here because I want to
assure you friends and neighbors that my co host enthusiasm
is genuine and sincere.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I literally talk about it all the time.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
It's weird, it gets weird sometimes. But but oh but
oh this is gonna be ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
That's fun. I'm having it already.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
So our in another show that we do stuff they
don't want you to know, with our illustrious, amazing co
host Matt Frederick. We actually also did the day sponsorship.
We did some ads for them, but this episode came
about because we reached out to them and said, we're
(06:17):
gonna do this anyway. Do you guys want to hang out? Basically,
and we're so glad that when we reached out to them. Yeah,
we did it, Yeah, because it just made sense and
it's like podcast need sponsors.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, why not. There's a match made in but heaven.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Because we're also we're also fairly silly, a juvenile for
two grown men.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
You know what, I'm never gonna let that boyish, potty
mind die.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Heck yeah, banger rang, That's what I say. So we
started investigating the history of this, and just at the
very front of the episode, we want to point out
the following. Although it can seem very hilarious and silly,
you know what, arg you rightfully so to talk about
(07:07):
these kinds of these kinds of gadgets and the techniques
people use to stay clean across the world. The truth
of the matter is that sanitation is a tremendously important
thing throughout history and in the modern day.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, have we talked about the fact that today in
San Francisco, specifically, I saw an interview with the head
of their sanitation it costs something like a million dollars
a month or something like that just to clean out
their sewage system.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, there are a lot of people and those those
costs aren't really going to go down.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Well, it's because of this thing. If if you heard
of this, it's called a fat berg. You know what
a fat is. It's the collection of like grease and
dirt and hair, toilet paper, toilet paper especially wipes that
you're not supposed to flush, shanitary products, condoms, absolutely, just
all the stuff that you're not supposed to flush, and
that's a huge infrastructure costs. I actually saw an article
(08:03):
about one of these fatbergs that was so massive in London.
It was the size of like a double decker bus.
They removed it and they put it under glass in
a museum.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yes, yeah, and it looks just as disgusting as you
might imagine. You can find it. You can find this
article online and you don't have to take our word
for it. The only recommendation we would make before you
read the article is to be sure that.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
You are not eating as you peruse it. They call
it the Whitechapel Monster, which is such a cool name.
And in England, London rather a Thames Water, which is
the company that operates the water system there in London,
spends a million pounds a month just to clear these
kinds of blockages.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And it's a constant battle. It's not like they're getting
ahead of the problem. It's strange because we spend so
little time thinking about how important sanitation is, especially in
a world where the majority of people now officially live
in urban areas. So this fatberg stuff, this problem with
(09:14):
sewage infrastructure, it's not going to go away. For most
of our listeners here in the US, A bid day,
which you've probably heard of before, sounds like a very
you know, fancy pinkies up European thing, right, you would
associate it with an upper crust lifestyle. That's reason, and
there's a great reason for that. So let's turn back
(09:38):
the clock. Let's travel to France sixteenth century. Maybe that's right,
the sixteenth century. You see, in the fifteen hundreds, bid
day was a word referring to a specific type of pet,
a pony, to be absolutely specific about it, and these
ponies were kept by French roy The word midday itself
(10:02):
originates from an old French word which I graphically mispronouncing, bideer,
which means to trot.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
And these, you know, I'm picturing these fancy frenchmen and
women in their finery trotting around on these dainty little ponies,
perhaps with ringlets in their manes, you know, flowing locks,
flowing locks bedecked with little little bows. Maybe I don't know,
white stockings, whatever. Man, I'm at a we're editorializing here,
but I'm just painting a picture. Okay, it's for effect.
(10:34):
But it wasn't until the sixteen hundreds that the bidet
as we know it, the b day whatever was kind
of came into fruition. But it wasn't what we know
today today's bedey.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
It was it today's day.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
It was the mid day of yesterday, and it was
really just like a sink. It looked like a chair.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So yeah, let's let's take a closer look at these
days of yesterday. The apparatus itself was resembled in some
ways an ottoman, an ornamental automan. The basin was set
within wooden furniture and bidets themselves. You will hear different
(11:17):
contradicting claims about whether there were was a single inventor
or whether there were multiple people to whom the idea
occurred around the same time. But one thing for sure
we know is that they were furniture makers, because these
things were set into wooden furniture.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
And the thing about that too is there's a reason
for that, Ben, because these were not in bathrooms, because
they didn't have indoor plumbing, the idea of a bathroom
would be more likely. It would be like in your chamber.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Pot it was just a bucket under your bed.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
And p in two or in your dressing room or
what have you, your your what do you call your boudoir, right,
and the bidet would just be this little I'm like,
I'm thinking of it as like a nightstand kind of
with short legs, and this inlaid basin of water that
would just be filled up and you'd squad over it
and literally splash yourself manually, right.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And this would be I love the point you bring
up about there not being a separate bathroom or restroom.
So this would be either in the dressing chambers or
in the bedroom itself. And to keep it classy, would
often be a lid, something made of wood or wicker
or leather.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And a lot of this, you know, These furniture makers
would inlay these little basins into these wicker furniture, like
you were saying, Ben, and it was almost to like
disguise the function of the device.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, because it's it's a very intimate thing. You're already
in someone's bedroom and then you see how they handle
some very personal business. But I feel weird every time
we say, but I'm gonna get over this, I promise.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
However, I like it.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
There we go, good substitute, Thank you, thank you. However,
in the the origin story of the bidet, it is
inherently intertwined with the story of class in France. And
that is why, as we alluded to at the top
of the show, that is why bidets even today are
(13:17):
seen as this more upper crust, fancy thing. And you
start to see why this might not have taken off
in the United States quite as much because of that
association with almost hedonism, right, because soldiers would see these
when they were traveling around Europe during World War Two. Yeah,
(13:38):
and we want to give a shout out to the
Atlantic because there is a fantastic article we found called
the Bidet's Revival. In this article, author Maria Teresa Hart
explores not just the somewhat murky origin of the bidet,
but I would argue even more importantly the social role
it played. It occurred culture, it was found in paintings,
(14:02):
it was referenced by the most wealthy, successful people of
the time.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Even Marie Antoinette, as she awaited her uh he head
to be chopped off by the guillotine, was able to
get her golden crusted bidet in her cell because she
was that was like one of the comforts that she
was used to. Apparently she used to travel around with one,
had one made that would go in her coach. So
(14:28):
this was very much associated with like kind of the
upper crust. But then it filtered down to kind of
everyone eventually, right.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Well everyone in Europe, yea, and eventually Asia and elsewhere
everywhere except the United States.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And with this article does a fantastic job of doing
is kind of exploring why that might.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Be okay, real quick time. The first written reference to
the bidet itself is in seventeen twenty six in Italy.
But as we know, the first written reference doesn't mean
it wasn't around, right of course, It just meant that
(15:14):
we have surviving documentation of someone writing about it.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Oh and by those days been it was a fancier version.
It had like a pump with the water that would squirt,
you know, the more like las you didn't have to
splash that seems very messy and ineffective.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
So around this time from the seventeen hundreds on Europe
experiences what we can only call a bidet boom, a
boom of bidets.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
I love it. It sounds like a just an explosion of
bidets going everywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yes, watch out, they're flying through the air to a
home near you. And it spread to other social classes
in France, as you said, Noel, to other countries in
Western Europe, and then Latin America, the Middle East, Asia,
but not the US. And there's a weird there's a
weird reason for that, and we should explore that. You know,
while we're here at this point in space and time,
(16:04):
how did the US not jump on the day train?
How did they not straddle the biday trade?
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Ben. It's a good question because everything we've said up
to this point makes it sound like a pretty appealing
train to ride, right. You know, it helps the environment,
And we didn't even talk about how much water and
resources are used in making toilet paper and paper products
in general, right, right, and how much money it costs
some local and state governments to clean up these disgusting
(16:34):
blobs of congealed tpe and crap. That are clogging up
our source systems. And as a bidet user myself, I
can tell you, sir, it leaves you feeling fresh as
a daisy.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Well, they're more hygienic. That's part of it. That's a
big part of it, too big part.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
But despite this, despite these advantages and friends and neighbors,
you can tell that we have our we have a
pretty strong opinion about this stuff. But despite the advantages
that were inherently present in biday technology, they were thought
of as very dirty, filthy things to the US. Why
(17:12):
because in World War Two we've got Allied troops, US
troops stationed in Europe, right and they are visiting there's
no need to use the euphemism here. They are visiting bordellos.
They're visiting houses of prostitution, and they saw bidets and bathrooms,
which was a normal thing, but because of the location
(17:35):
they were at, they started to associate these with sex work.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Interesting. I feel like it's a little crappy of them
to judge, boy to judge when they're hanging out in
the bordellos, like what, they're good enough to pay for sex,
but they're like freaked out by their strange cleansing implement
and also.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
The process by which Biday cleanses someone after they have
used the restroom right or had intercourse or had intercourse.
Yet it's associated with a sexual aspect because you're washing
out genitalia, right.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
That's absolutely true. In fact, it was even associated with
birth control, and birth control in those days equals sin, helen, damnation.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
And we found a great quote from a birth control pioneer,
Norman Hare in nineteen thirty six.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Right, yeah, that's right. He says that in Anglo Saxon communities,
where bathrooms are notoriously cold and joyless rooms, lacking any
kind of warmth or decor, the very presence of a
bidet would have been regarded as like a symbol of sin, right.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Which is so strange because again we see this association
with hedonism, debauchery, and obscene wealth carrying over from this
seventeen hundreds to World War two.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Dude, that's right. This would have been way in like
the forties. So we've got the evolution of the bidet
kind of reaching its logical conclusion at this point where
you've got indoor plumbing at this point, so the bidet
has moved into the bathroom next to the toilet. It's
still a separate implement. And that's why a lot of
Americans when they see them, it's rife for comedy and like,
(19:24):
you know, euro vacation or somebody, someone ends up drinking
from the bidet and then making a joke about how, hey,
pretty cool y'all have water fountains in the bathroom here
they're kind of low though, Yeah, weird. I forget what that.
That's definitely in a movie and I can't remember which one.
Write us and let us know.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yeah, people getting squirted in the face and stuff. There's
another association that bidets had which worked against them, at
least in the US, and it is tied to the
misogyny of the time, and that is that they were
helpful in the process of menstruation.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
That's right, because there were no sanitary products in these days.
There's actually a really amazing sounding book called Unmentionable, The
Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manner. So this
is we're going back a little bit, but this is
still doesn't get much better than this, and it talks
about how women to rid themselves of the product of menstruation,
(20:22):
the blood, would use what they referred to as jelly rags,
and it was literally just a piece of fabric that
they would use to physically wipe this area. And that
just sounds really unpleasant and messy. And the midday would
give you nice little spritz clean you right off. We
good to go for at least a little while, right right.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
And so it's strange now when we look back from
twenty eighteen that the ability to provide a more healthy
alternative in the process of menstruation was not seen as
a selling point. It was placed on the same level
as prostitution or unwanted pregnancy, to be delicate about it,
(21:06):
and these all became hindrances for the bid day itself
because they were inherently being linked in the American consumer's
mind with a bunch of things that at the time
people just did not speak of in public.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
We're kind of jumping all over the place a little bit,
which is fine, that's what we do. But if we
go back to nineteen twenty eight, according to this amazing
Atlantic article, there was actually a patent for a design
that's very similar to what we see in bidets today
by our buddy John Harvey Kellogg. You know, the corn
flakes and masturbation fame. Uh huh, corn flakes anti masturbation fame.
(21:48):
Excuse me, Well, he would he would take exception. He's
also a big fan of animas, which I think we
mentioned we did earlier episode Yogurts I believe. Yeah. Yeah,
weird guy, but forward thinking when it comes to washing
your butt.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
And he was American, Yeah, he was American, and his
very particular beliefs about how one would pursue personal health
obviously led him to design this thing. Now, there's no
two ways about it. Harvey Kellogg may have been really eccentric,
but he was also a brilliant person, so he would
(22:23):
have if the bidet had not already been invented centuries before,
he would have invented it in the US.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Oh dude, but I'm looking at this pattern right now.
It's a drawing. Yeah, it's just called J. H. Kellogg
anal douche. Yeah, sounds like it's this title and it's
it's it's like a nozzle. Sorry about John Harvey Kellogg
anal douche.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
And it's a it's a it's a nozzle.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
It's a nozzle that it kind of splits off from
the water supply that you would see. And it's the
same as and hasn't changed much, right, indoor plumbing. And
it goes up and kind of out from underneath the
toilet seat, and there's just a little fritz are nozzle
and you have a control with a valve, and it
fritz is you. And you might ask, isn't it gonna
go everywhere? No, sir or madam or whomever you're it's
(23:10):
blocked by your butt, goes in your butt. That's true.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Now, of course, we should also point out that these
things were not advertised as a complete replacement for the
use of toilet paper. They were in addition to so
you use much less toilet paper because one of the
questions people would have is how do you dry yourself off?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Right?
Speaker 1 (23:32):
That's dab. That's where that stuff comes into play. Yeah,
and you use so much less toilet paper. But still,
as we're in the twentieth century, early to mid twentieth century,
the days are seen as hedonistic European and I hope
you can hear the italics when we say it that way,
like ou la la right, exact European, and they seemed
(23:54):
set to remain a thoroughly Unamerican thing, but that didn't
stop people from trying to make bidet waves. There was
a guy named Arnold Cohen who was the founder of
the American Bidet Company because he created a specific type
of bidet for his father who was having some health problems.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Some memorhoids perhaps or rashes. Yeah. Yeah, where you can
get these like anth calm fishers that you can get
from having, you know, being unclean down there. It's bad times.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
And he ultimately had a very difficult time with this,
even though he was an experienced, veteran man in the
advertising industry. No matter what he did, he couldn't really
seem to get this off the ground. And in bathrooms
across America.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
We're in the sixties at this point.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
We're in the sixties, Yes, thank you, in nineteen sixty four,
and he did some out of the box stuff. He
went on his own initiative. He installed hundreds or thousands
of these all over New York.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, but unfortunately, this is one man going up against
big toilet paper, which is a thing. It is whenny
can we hear some stats about how much toilet paper
is sold, how much money is generated from toilet paper
in this country?
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Yeah, yeah, because we had the stats about how much
is used. I don't know how much is Yeah, let's
put some financial numbers on that.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Dude, this is insane. Okay. So Sharman Ultrasoft, which is
you know, you know, you know Sharman. They've been around
for a long time. They got a lot of brand recognition.
They're only the third most popular brand of toilet paper
in sales. They are Sharman Ultrasoft variety made more than
a billion dollars alone in twenty seventeen. Wow, the most
(25:36):
popular private label made one point seven billion dollars in
twenty seventeen. So when we say big toilet paper, we
are not kidding.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
It's a billion dollar, booming business but belligerately opposed bidets. Yes,
oh good, oh thanks man. Thanks, So we can tell
from those statistics, which are our really recent twenty seventeen
you said, right, yes, sir, So we can tell that
the battle between bidets and toilet paper did not work
(26:08):
out for bidets back in the sixties in the US.
But you know where it caught on you where Cohen
did find success for the American Bidet company.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
You tell Japan. Ah, that's right, because the Japanese were
importing a lot of American toilets because original Japanese toilets
were really uncomfortable. They were super low to the ground.
You had to squat, which now they've got these squatty
potties and they say that it's good for you. But
I don't know about all that. But the Japanese, being
very innovative people kind of really took that bidet design
(26:43):
that Kellogg patented so long ago and took it to
the next level. There's this company called Toto that makes
a product called the Washlet, which is a remote control
bidet with a heated seat that can be hot or cold.
The bedet stream can change directions you wanted to go
counterclockwise or clockwise, or give you a nice direct jet
(27:06):
kind of water pic vibe. But you can do that.
And these things are like thousands of dollars or some depends.
They're like the you know, luxury toilet.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Seats, but the bottom line one is maybe five hundred dollars,
which is still very expensive, very expense in comparison to
a regular commode.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Or you know, the amazing product from our pals at Tushie.
There we go, there we go.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
So we see that this technology originates in France and
proliferates throughout the world. But we also see that this
partially because of the cultural associations, I think more and
more frequently because of the price point. But days have
(27:52):
been you know, a distant second place in the story
of sanitation here in the US.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, you know how much toilet paper was sold in
Europe in twenty seventeen, much less than in the US
thirteen mil, relatively, dropping the dropping the chamber bucket.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Because we're talking there, we go, dropping the chamber five
because we're talking about a continent there that's not just
the country, that's Europe entire. And so this catches us
up to the modern day. And there's an excellent article
on our website HowStuffWorks dot Com by Alison Cooper called
the bidet Is it making a comeback? And it turns out,
(28:28):
as you and I have been talking about off air nol,
it turns out that, uh, the bidat may actually have
its time to shine here in the.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
States, to shine up our buttholes.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Yeah, man, that's that's the truth of the matter. And look,
we know this can sound.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
We know this.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
There we go, there we go, Oh my god, Well, done.
We know this can sound a little bit strange, but
the facts, the objective statistics, are on the side of
the argument that bidets are gaining ground here in the US.
And I think a huge part of that is because
(29:10):
for decades I assumed, and I think most everybody assumed
rightly so, that you would have to remodel your house,
you would have to install a new water line to
run to that biday, right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
But now thanks to our pals Tushy, he's got a
super low profile bidet attachment that has gained popularity. And
it's actually very similar to that patent from our buddy
Kellogg from nineteen thirty. It just splits off from the
existing water line. And look, we know, we know they're
sponsoring the show, but I really do It's a great
(29:45):
thing to have in your house. I'm a fan, and
I really hope the midday Revolution continues on full force
and I'll be leading the charge. My friend, I don't
know about you.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
It's a brand new beday in America. We got there, Noel,
we did, man.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
We hope that.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I think it's fairly obvious to everyone that we we
enjoyed ourselves so much on this episode. I'm Casey. I
am sure that you have cut out several solid minutes
of us just laughing at each.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Other, just saying but just saying butts. But we hang it.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
However, we hope you enjoyed this episode as much as
we enjoyed exploring it. And again, as funny and silly
as it may seem, as taboo as it may feel
to discuss these things, the truth of the matter is that,
for multiple reasons, the role of toilet paper, the role
(30:40):
of personal sanitation.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Roll of toilet paper.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Oh I just walked into that one it. Oh man,
thank you, No, I wouldn't have noticed that one these
these various factors come into play in a tremendously important way,
not just environmentalism, but also your own personal health.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I think those US versus European to the paper sales
stats speak volumes.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
So let us know what your experiences are like. We
have a lot of listeners from around the world. I'd
also be interested to hear from folks in Australia because
we didn't really explore Australia's sanitation in this episode.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, and does the water really turn down the drain
in the other direction? Let us know you can write
to us at Ridiculous at HowStuffWorks dot com. You can
hit us up on our Facebook page, or better yeah,
join our Facebook group, the Ridiculous Historians, where we get
into all kinds of fun stuff.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
We'd like to thank Casey Pegram for yet again saving
the show. We'd like to thank Alison Cooper and John
Donovan over at how Stuff Works.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
And Loriel Dove while we're at it, she didn't really
write anything today, but such a cool sound cue I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
We also want to thank Alex Williams who composed our track,
and most importantly, as we as we'd love to say
every episode, we'd like to thank you specifically you.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Buy does she be d by?
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Does oh nolsa?
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Subliminal? You like that?
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yeah, you're proselytizing. I know that's it for now, but
stay tuned for our next episode where we cover very
strange stories of voter fraud.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Oh yeah, we're talking election fraud in the eighteen hundreds.
That includes stuff ranging from all kinds of bad behavior, kidnapping,
forced intoxication.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
And my favorite one repeat voting in disguise.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
We can get a trench coat you can't make this
stuff up, and a fake mustache. Yes, yes, we'll see
then ridiculous historians. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Ridiculous History News
Hosts And Creators
Ben Bowlin
Noel Brown
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Monster: BTK
'Monster: BTK', the newest installment in the 'Monster' franchise, reveals the true story of the Wichita, Kansas serial killer who murdered at least 10 people between 1974 and 1991. Known by the moniker, BTK – Bind Torture Kill, his notoriety was bolstered by the taunting letters he sent to police, and the chilling phone calls he made to media outlets. BTK's identity was finally revealed in 2005 to the shock of his family, his community, and the world. He was the serial killer next door. From Tenderfoot TV & iHeartPodcasts, this is 'Monster: BTK'.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.