August 30, 2024 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, everything you've ever wanted to know, and more, about toilet paper. Here's The History Guy with the story.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is our American Stories, and we tell stories about
everything here on this show. And our next story comes
to us from a man who's simply known as the
History Guy. His videos are watched by hundreds of thousands
of people of all ages on YouTube. The History Guy
has also heard here and our American Stories. Here's the
History Guy with the story of toilet paper.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
For much of history, in many societies, wiping was done
with things that were commonly available and disposable grass, leaves, moss, straw,
even snow and well. In some ways it seems a
puerile discussion, Actually it tells us something about culture. The
Romans used a tool called a xylospongium, which was essentially
a bit of a sponge on a stick. Wealthy Romans
might have their own personal xylospongium, but for the most
(00:55):
part they were communally used based on latrines which might
accommodate ten to twenty peoples at a time. The sponge
would be rinsed in a mixture of water, salt, in vinegar.
Sponges would have been breeding grounds for bacteria in some histories,
suggests they served to spread infectious disease, and the items
used for this purpose certainly dependent upon wealth and social class,
with one startling example being the position of groom of
(01:17):
the Stool, which served the English monarchs from at least
the fifteenth century all the way up to the twentieth century.
The purpose of the position was to have a servant
who was responsible for helping the king while he was
doing his business, and the first known person to have
the position, then called Yeomen of the Stool, was one
William Grimsby in fourteen fifty five. It's not really clear
(01:39):
if the person was directly responsible for wiping the king's backside,
but one of their responsibilities was to make sure that
there was blanket, cotton, or linen to wipe the nether end.
While the position would see to be one of the
less savory, in fact it became a highly prized position.
The groom of the Stool referring to the King's stool,
(02:00):
which was black velvet and fringed with silk, with two
pewter basins and four broad yards of tonic cloth, was
one of a few attendants who shared true private time
and able to speak intimately with the king. Although not
a member of the Privy Council, the groom was often
more privy to the king's private thoughts than the king's
closest advisers. In fact, the groom of the stool would
(02:20):
often have so much access to the king's private thoughts
that other courtiers were afraid of them for the secrets
they held. Over time, the position expanded to include control
of the affairs of the king's inner rooms, including making
sure the king was well dressed. The position included perks
like being given the king's old clothes and furnishings. People
would petition the groom to advocate on their behalf so
(02:41):
that he could use his private time with the king
to help someone gain a prized position. The position gained
such broad responsibilities and prestige that it was often held
by persons of high nobility. The position continued through the
Hanavarian kings, but was in abeyance center Victoria and finally
eliminated by her son Edward the seventh in nineteen oh one.
Not surprisingly, the first culture to use paper for their
(03:02):
bathroom needs was the Chinese, where paper was invented perhaps
as early as the eighth century BC. In general, most
people would have used leftover scraps of paper, but paper
specifically for use in the toilet was being mass produced
in China as early as the fourteenth century, although they
might have been largely reserved to the wealthy and much
of it used by the emperor's court. Paper didn't make
(03:23):
it to Europe until the eleventh century. The process was
done by hand pressing fibers on a screen mold, but
Johann Gutenberg's invention of the movable type printing press around
fourteen forty coused a printing revolution in Europe and greatly
increased demand for paper, and paper making became an industry.
While people were likely using paper scraps in the bathroom
in Europe as soon as paper reached the continent, in practice,
(03:45):
paper was expensive and would hardly been used for such purpose.
There were, however, exceptions. Sixteenth century English churchman John Bale
mourned that books dispersed from the dissolution of the monasteries
by Henry the eighth were being purchased by nobles to
rub their booties. Still, paper was rare enough in the
eighteenth century that it was not the most common tool
for the job. In colonial America, it, despite the availability
(04:08):
of printed materials, corn cobs were most commonly used for
bathroom duty. It wasn't until the end of the eighteenth century.
The first patent was in France in seventeen ninety nine
that paper making machines using continuous rollers were invented. A
new process was far cheaper and faster, and printing in
paper products proliferated. By the early part of the nineteenth century,
people in Europe and America were most commonly using scrap
(04:30):
paper in their bathrooms. Using a bit of newspaper or
catalog makes sense. The paper was essentially free and offered
reading material for that private time as well. The hole
that is traditionally drilled in the corner of the Old
Farmer's Almanac was reportedly to allow the book to be
hung by a hook in the outhouse. Joseph Gayetti is
generally credited with producing the first commercially marketed toilet paper
(04:52):
in eighteen fifty seven. Gagietti's paper was called therapeutic paper
and was sold in single sheets at the cost of
one thousand sheets for a dollar. His paper was claimed
to have medical benefits, especially as treatment for hemorrhoids, as
at the time suggested that ink papers were toxic when
used on sensitive parts. Oddly, Gayetty's papers were each water
marked JC Gayetti, New York. Getty's product was one of
(05:16):
the fu sold at the time and continued to be
sold into the twentieth century, but the product had limited success.
It was a prudish age and Americans were embarrassed by
a product meant for their behinds, and many could not
afford to or see the value in paying for paper
when so much of it, for example, the Sears and
Robot catalog was free. Developments such as patenting processes to
(05:37):
sell paper on a roll with perforated sheets still struggled
commercially because in Victorian times the use of the paper
was well unmentionable. But another new technology was about to
change that. In eighteen twenty nine, the Tremont House hotel
in Boston became the first hotel in America to use
indoor plumbing. As cities developed municipal water systems, solely technology
(06:00):
for the water closet improved. Early in the nineteenth century,
American manufacturers behind those of Britain, and most equipment for
water closets was imported, But by the end of the century,
American manufacturers were producing better products, and more and more
upscale homes featured indoor water closets. New Yorker's Clearence and
Edward Scott founded Scott Paper in eighteen seventy nine in Philadelphia.
(06:21):
They didn't make paper or that they sell directly to consumers. Instead,
they bought paper in bulk and marketed rolls of perforated
toilet paper through third parties such as hotels and drug
stores that avoided the sensitivity of the subject, and the
paper became seen as a special amenity of fancy hotels
that featured indoor water closets. There's a healthy and hygienic
product sold at drug stores. Their marketing system worked, and
(06:42):
they eventually packaged their paper for more than two thousand brands.
But as more and more homes were being equipped with
indoor bathrooms, newspapers and catalog seemed less appropriate and would
clog the pipes. At the same time, people wanted to
buy brands and they'd seen at upscale hotels. In nineteen
oh two, the Scott Company purchased the trademark to their
most popular third party seller, Oldorf Bathroom Tissue, and began
(07:05):
marketing it to consumers directly under the Scott brand. For
the first time. The company started manufacturing its own paper again,
The product was successful, although still marketed as a health
product whose packaging did not mention the product's unmentionable function.
The company quickly became the world's largest manufacturer of the product.
As indoor plumbing became more common in the United States
(07:26):
and Europe, the products only became indispensable, but there were
developments in both marketing and manufacturing. In nineteen twenty eight,
the brand Charman and a play on the word charming,
began packaging the product using feminine looking designs, appealing to
homemakers and creating an image of softness and femininity. The
shift once again helped to remove stigma from marketing it.
As late as nineteen thirty five, the Quilted Northern brand
(07:47):
advertised that their paper was splinter free, which may have
been more of a marketing strategy than a different paper process,
but emphasized that the product was about comfort as well
as hygiene. Later, things like multiply tissue and scented and
broadened and differentiated the market further. Still, it took a
long time for the unmentionable to become mentionable. It wasn't
until the nineteen seventies that television networks in the US
(08:09):
allowed advertising under the name toilet paper rather than the
less descriptive name bathroom tissue. Today, toilet paper is big business.
More than seven billion rolls are sold in the United
States annually, although for some seventy percent of the world,
toilet paper is still not the primary way that they
deal with their bathroom business. It's become such a part
of culture in America that a character in a Sherman
(08:31):
ad campaign called mister Whipple, a store manager extorted customers
to please don't squeeze the Sharman ran for nearly sixty years.
A nineteen seventy eight TV Guide survey found that mister
Whipple was the third most recognized man in America, behind
former President Richard Nixon and evangelist Billy Graham. And if
that's true, it means that in nineteen seventy eight, mister
(08:52):
Whipple was more widely recognized in America than then President
Jimmy Carter. I can't exp saying why people are panic
buying toilet paper today. I'll leave current events up to
other people. But it does seem ironic that we're rushing
out to buy toilet paper when just one hundred years
ago Americans couldn't even figure out why they needed the
product when there was so much free paper available. But
(09:13):
one of the most common solutions is no longer available
to us, according to the Sears Archive, due to changes
in retailing trends. Sears stopped producing its general catalog in
nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And you've been listening to the History Guy and you
can find all of his work on YouTube. Just put
in the History Guy and you'll find his YouTube channel.
And a special thanks to him for allowing us to
share his storytelling with us. And we love telling stories
about history. But again, these innovations, while they make life
better for us, and free enterprise does it, and inventors
(09:48):
do it. The story of toilet paper here on our
American Stories
This is our American Stories, and we tell stories about
everything here on this show. And our next story comes
to us from a man who's simply known as the
History Guy. His videos are watched by hundreds of thousands
of people of all ages on YouTube. The History Guy
has also heard here and our American Stories. Here's the
History Guy with the story of toilet paper.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
For much of history, in many societies, wiping was done
with things that were commonly available and disposable grass, leaves, moss, straw,
even snow and well. In some ways it seems a
puerile discussion, Actually it tells us something about culture. The
Romans used a tool called a xylospongium, which was essentially
a bit of a sponge on a stick. Wealthy Romans
might have their own personal xylospongium, but for the most
(00:55):
part they were communally used based on latrines which might
accommodate ten to twenty peoples at a time. The sponge
would be rinsed in a mixture of water, salt, in vinegar.
Sponges would have been breeding grounds for bacteria in some histories,
suggests they served to spread infectious disease, and the items
used for this purpose certainly dependent upon wealth and social class,
with one startling example being the position of groom of
(01:17):
the Stool, which served the English monarchs from at least
the fifteenth century all the way up to the twentieth century.
The purpose of the position was to have a servant
who was responsible for helping the king while he was
doing his business, and the first known person to have
the position, then called Yeomen of the Stool, was one
William Grimsby in fourteen fifty five. It's not really clear
(01:39):
if the person was directly responsible for wiping the king's backside,
but one of their responsibilities was to make sure that
there was blanket, cotton, or linen to wipe the nether end.
While the position would see to be one of the
less savory, in fact it became a highly prized position.
The groom of the Stool referring to the King's stool,
(02:00):
which was black velvet and fringed with silk, with two
pewter basins and four broad yards of tonic cloth, was
one of a few attendants who shared true private time
and able to speak intimately with the king. Although not
a member of the Privy Council, the groom was often
more privy to the king's private thoughts than the king's
closest advisers. In fact, the groom of the stool would
(02:20):
often have so much access to the king's private thoughts
that other courtiers were afraid of them for the secrets
they held. Over time, the position expanded to include control
of the affairs of the king's inner rooms, including making
sure the king was well dressed. The position included perks
like being given the king's old clothes and furnishings. People
would petition the groom to advocate on their behalf so
(02:41):
that he could use his private time with the king
to help someone gain a prized position. The position gained
such broad responsibilities and prestige that it was often held
by persons of high nobility. The position continued through the
Hanavarian kings, but was in abeyance center Victoria and finally
eliminated by her son Edward the seventh in nineteen oh one.
Not surprisingly, the first culture to use paper for their
(03:02):
bathroom needs was the Chinese, where paper was invented perhaps
as early as the eighth century BC. In general, most
people would have used leftover scraps of paper, but paper
specifically for use in the toilet was being mass produced
in China as early as the fourteenth century, although they
might have been largely reserved to the wealthy and much
of it used by the emperor's court. Paper didn't make
(03:23):
it to Europe until the eleventh century. The process was
done by hand pressing fibers on a screen mold, but
Johann Gutenberg's invention of the movable type printing press around
fourteen forty coused a printing revolution in Europe and greatly
increased demand for paper, and paper making became an industry.
While people were likely using paper scraps in the bathroom
in Europe as soon as paper reached the continent, in practice,
(03:45):
paper was expensive and would hardly been used for such purpose.
There were, however, exceptions. Sixteenth century English churchman John Bale
mourned that books dispersed from the dissolution of the monasteries
by Henry the eighth were being purchased by nobles to
rub their booties. Still, paper was rare enough in the
eighteenth century that it was not the most common tool
for the job. In colonial America, it, despite the availability
(04:08):
of printed materials, corn cobs were most commonly used for
bathroom duty. It wasn't until the end of the eighteenth century.
The first patent was in France in seventeen ninety nine
that paper making machines using continuous rollers were invented. A
new process was far cheaper and faster, and printing in
paper products proliferated. By the early part of the nineteenth century,
people in Europe and America were most commonly using scrap
(04:30):
paper in their bathrooms. Using a bit of newspaper or
catalog makes sense. The paper was essentially free and offered
reading material for that private time as well. The hole
that is traditionally drilled in the corner of the Old
Farmer's Almanac was reportedly to allow the book to be
hung by a hook in the outhouse. Joseph Gayetti is
generally credited with producing the first commercially marketed toilet paper
(04:52):
in eighteen fifty seven. Gagietti's paper was called therapeutic paper
and was sold in single sheets at the cost of
one thousand sheets for a dollar. His paper was claimed
to have medical benefits, especially as treatment for hemorrhoids, as
at the time suggested that ink papers were toxic when
used on sensitive parts. Oddly, Gayetty's papers were each water
marked JC Gayetti, New York. Getty's product was one of
(05:16):
the fu sold at the time and continued to be
sold into the twentieth century, but the product had limited success.
It was a prudish age and Americans were embarrassed by
a product meant for their behinds, and many could not
afford to or see the value in paying for paper
when so much of it, for example, the Sears and
Robot catalog was free. Developments such as patenting processes to
(05:37):
sell paper on a roll with perforated sheets still struggled
commercially because in Victorian times the use of the paper
was well unmentionable. But another new technology was about to
change that. In eighteen twenty nine, the Tremont House hotel
in Boston became the first hotel in America to use
indoor plumbing. As cities developed municipal water systems, solely technology
(06:00):
for the water closet improved. Early in the nineteenth century,
American manufacturers behind those of Britain, and most equipment for
water closets was imported, But by the end of the century,
American manufacturers were producing better products, and more and more
upscale homes featured indoor water closets. New Yorker's Clearence and
Edward Scott founded Scott Paper in eighteen seventy nine in Philadelphia.
(06:21):
They didn't make paper or that they sell directly to consumers. Instead,
they bought paper in bulk and marketed rolls of perforated
toilet paper through third parties such as hotels and drug
stores that avoided the sensitivity of the subject, and the
paper became seen as a special amenity of fancy hotels
that featured indoor water closets. There's a healthy and hygienic
product sold at drug stores. Their marketing system worked, and
(06:42):
they eventually packaged their paper for more than two thousand brands.
But as more and more homes were being equipped with
indoor bathrooms, newspapers and catalog seemed less appropriate and would
clog the pipes. At the same time, people wanted to
buy brands and they'd seen at upscale hotels. In nineteen
oh two, the Scott Company purchased the trademark to their
most popular third party seller, Oldorf Bathroom Tissue, and began
(07:05):
marketing it to consumers directly under the Scott brand. For
the first time. The company started manufacturing its own paper again,
The product was successful, although still marketed as a health
product whose packaging did not mention the product's unmentionable function.
The company quickly became the world's largest manufacturer of the product.
As indoor plumbing became more common in the United States
(07:26):
and Europe, the products only became indispensable, but there were
developments in both marketing and manufacturing. In nineteen twenty eight,
the brand Charman and a play on the word charming,
began packaging the product using feminine looking designs, appealing to
homemakers and creating an image of softness and femininity. The
shift once again helped to remove stigma from marketing it.
As late as nineteen thirty five, the Quilted Northern brand
(07:47):
advertised that their paper was splinter free, which may have
been more of a marketing strategy than a different paper process,
but emphasized that the product was about comfort as well
as hygiene. Later, things like multiply tissue and scented and
broadened and differentiated the market further. Still, it took a
long time for the unmentionable to become mentionable. It wasn't
until the nineteen seventies that television networks in the US
(08:09):
allowed advertising under the name toilet paper rather than the
less descriptive name bathroom tissue. Today, toilet paper is big business.
More than seven billion rolls are sold in the United
States annually, although for some seventy percent of the world,
toilet paper is still not the primary way that they
deal with their bathroom business. It's become such a part
of culture in America that a character in a Sherman
(08:31):
ad campaign called mister Whipple, a store manager extorted customers
to please don't squeeze the Sharman ran for nearly sixty years.
A nineteen seventy eight TV Guide survey found that mister
Whipple was the third most recognized man in America, behind
former President Richard Nixon and evangelist Billy Graham. And if
that's true, it means that in nineteen seventy eight, mister
(08:52):
Whipple was more widely recognized in America than then President
Jimmy Carter. I can't exp saying why people are panic
buying toilet paper today. I'll leave current events up to
other people. But it does seem ironic that we're rushing
out to buy toilet paper when just one hundred years
ago Americans couldn't even figure out why they needed the
product when there was so much free paper available. But
(09:13):
one of the most common solutions is no longer available
to us, according to the Sears Archive, due to changes
in retailing trends. Sears stopped producing its general catalog in
nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And you've been listening to the History Guy and you
can find all of his work on YouTube. Just put
in the History Guy and you'll find his YouTube channel.
And a special thanks to him for allowing us to
share his storytelling with us. And we love telling stories
about history. But again, these innovations, while they make life
better for us, and free enterprise does it, and inventors
(09:48):
do it. The story of toilet paper here on our
American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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