August 6, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Toilet paper might seem like a modern necessity, but the truth is messier—and much older. Long before perforated rolls and flushable comfort, people used whatever they could find: seashells, corn cobs, even stones. The History Guy shares the story of what people used before toilet paper was invented—and how one man’s idea for “medicated paper” launched an industry no one wanted to talk about.
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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 patrins at a time. The sponge
would be rinsed in a mixture of water, salt, and vinegar.
Sponges would have been breeding grounds for bacteria. In some
history suggests they served to spread infectious disease, and the
items used for this purpose certainly depended upon wealth and
social class, with one startling example being the position of
(01:16):
Groom of 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
(01:38):
really clear 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 seem to
be one of the less savory, in fact, it became
a highly prized position. The groom of the Stool referring
(01:59):
to the King's close stool, which was black velvet and
fringed with silk, with two pewter basins and four broad
yards of towny 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
(02:20):
of the stool would 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 that he could use his private
(02:42):
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 when the eliminated by her son Edward the
seventh in nineteen oh one. Not surprisingly, the first culture
to use paper for their bathroom needs was the Chinese,
(03:04):
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 that might have been largely reserved
to the wealthy and much of it used by the
emperor's court. Paper didn't make it to Europe until the
eleventh century. The process was done by hand pressing fibers
(03:27):
on a screen mold, but Johann Guttenberg's invention of the
movable type printing press around fourteen forty caused 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, paper was expensive and
would hardly been used for such purpose. There were, however, exceptions.
(03:51):
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 of printed materials, corn
cocks were most commonly used for bathroom duty. It wasn't
(04:12):
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 paper in
their bathrooms. Using a bit of newspaper or catalog made sense.
(04:34):
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 in eighteen fifty seven.
Gagilletti's paper was called therapeutic paper and was sold in
(04:57):
single sheets at the cost of one thousand sheets for
a dollar. His paper was claimed to have medical benefits,
especially his 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 Gaietti, New York.
Getty's product was one of the fu sold at the
time and continued to be sold into the twentieth century,
(05:19):
but the product had limited success. It was a prutish
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 sell paper on a roll
with perforated sheets still struggled commercially because in Victorian times
(05:43):
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 for the water closet improved. Early
in the nineteenth century, American manufacturers behind those of Britain,
(06:05):
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. 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
(06:27):
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, as a healthy and hygienic product sold at
drug stores. Their marketing system worked, and they eventually packaged
their paper for more than two thousand brands, But as
more and more homes were being equipped with indoor bathrooms,
(06:49):
newspapers and catalog seemed less appropriate and would clog the pipes.
At the same time, people wanted to buy brands that
they'd seen at upscale hotels. In nineteen o two, the
company purchased the trademark to their most popular third party seller,
Oldorf Bathroom Tissue, and began marketing it to consumers directly
under the Scott brand. For the first time. The company
(07:10):
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 and Europe, the
products only became indispensable, but there were developments in both
marketing and manufacturing. In nineteen twenty eight, the brand Sharman
(07:33):
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 advertised that their
paper was splinter free, which may have been more of
a marketing strategy than a different paper process, but emphasized
(07:54):
that the product was about comfort as well as hygiene. Later,
things like multiply tissue and scented brand 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 allowed advertising under
the name toilet paper rather than the less descriptive name
bathroom tissue. Today, toilet paper is big business. More than
(08:18):
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 ad campaign
called mister Whipple, a store manager extorted customers to please
don't squeeze the Sharman ran for nearly sixty years. A
(08:40):
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 Whipple was
more widely recognized in America than then President Jimmy Carter.
I can't explain why people are panic buying toilet paper today.
(09:02):
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 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 Story
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 patrins at a time. The sponge
would be rinsed in a mixture of water, salt, and vinegar.
Sponges would have been breeding grounds for bacteria. In some
history suggests they served to spread infectious disease, and the
items used for this purpose certainly depended upon wealth and
social class, with one startling example being the position of
(01:16):
Groom of 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
(01:38):
really clear 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 seem to
be one of the less savory, in fact, it became
a highly prized position. The groom of the Stool referring
(01:59):
to the King's close stool, which was black velvet and
fringed with silk, with two pewter basins and four broad
yards of towny 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
(02:20):
of the stool would 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 that he could use his private
(02:42):
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 when the eliminated by her son Edward the
seventh in nineteen oh one. Not surprisingly, the first culture
to use paper for their bathroom needs was the Chinese,
(03:04):
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 that might have been largely reserved
to the wealthy and much of it used by the
emperor's court. Paper didn't make it to Europe until the
eleventh century. The process was done by hand pressing fibers
(03:27):
on a screen mold, but Johann Guttenberg's invention of the
movable type printing press around fourteen forty caused 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, paper was expensive and
would hardly been used for such purpose. There were, however, exceptions.
(03:51):
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 of printed materials, corn
cocks were most commonly used for bathroom duty. It wasn't
(04:12):
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 paper in
their bathrooms. Using a bit of newspaper or catalog made sense.
(04:34):
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 in eighteen fifty seven.
Gagilletti's paper was called therapeutic paper and was sold in
(04:57):
single sheets at the cost of one thousand sheets for
a dollar. His paper was claimed to have medical benefits,
especially his 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 Gaietti, New York.
Getty's product was one of the fu sold at the
time and continued to be sold into the twentieth century,
(05:19):
but the product had limited success. It was a prutish
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 sell paper on a roll
with perforated sheets still struggled commercially because in Victorian times
(05:43):
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 for the water closet improved. Early
in the nineteenth century, American manufacturers behind those of Britain,
(06:05):
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. 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
(06:27):
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, as a healthy and hygienic product sold at
drug stores. Their marketing system worked, and they eventually packaged
their paper for more than two thousand brands, But as
more and more homes were being equipped with indoor bathrooms,
(06:49):
newspapers and catalog seemed less appropriate and would clog the pipes.
At the same time, people wanted to buy brands that
they'd seen at upscale hotels. In nineteen o two, the
company purchased the trademark to their most popular third party seller,
Oldorf Bathroom Tissue, and began marketing it to consumers directly
under the Scott brand. For the first time. The company
(07:10):
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 and Europe, the
products only became indispensable, but there were developments in both
marketing and manufacturing. In nineteen twenty eight, the brand Sharman
(07:33):
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 advertised that their
paper was splinter free, which may have been more of
a marketing strategy than a different paper process, but emphasized
(07:54):
that the product was about comfort as well as hygiene. Later,
things like multiply tissue and scented brand 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 allowed advertising under
the name toilet paper rather than the less descriptive name
bathroom tissue. Today, toilet paper is big business. More than
(08:18):
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 ad campaign
called mister Whipple, a store manager extorted customers to please
don't squeeze the Sharman ran for nearly sixty years. A
(08:40):
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 Whipple was
more widely recognized in America than then President Jimmy Carter.
I can't explain why people are panic buying toilet paper today.
(09:02):
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 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 Story
Host
Lee Habeeb
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