Toilet Paper

HINT: eww, ouch, or WTF; take your pick

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, people of the Internet. I cannot thank you enough
for stopping by for another episode of What We Did Before,
a podcast dedicated to well nostalgia. Some things are so
easy to take for granted, and it's nice to take
a moment and appreciate some of them, because what did
we do before? Some things? Today's episode is going to

(00:27):
be a good one. What did we do before? A
toilet paper? On second thought, I don't want to know?
Just kidding, We're going to give it a go. Some
ancient solutions to the problem of well, what to do

(00:49):
with you know, the obvious choices. Leaves and grass yes,
commonly used in forested regions where large, soft, hopefully leaves

(01:11):
were abundant. Some examples include large smooth leaves from Moulion,
which is still called cowboy toilet paper today. Fern fronds
are used in Europe and other North American regions. In

(01:33):
tropical regions, if you ever need a go to is
banana leaves. As it turns out, some prose of all
of this include softness, hopefully, and folks, this is the
original green toilet paper. All of these are biodigradable. They're

(02:00):
also easy to find. There are some cons you should
be aware of such as seasonal availability, and there is
potential risk of poison ivy like plants because you have

(02:21):
to get your toilet paper, you could also consider as
an alternative. Moss and liking also used in northern Europe
and the Arctic due to its softness and absorbency. Sphagnum
moss was especially valued for its antibacterial properties. Also used

(02:43):
as wound addressing. Reindeer liking was another option in cold regions.
Pros for these they were very absorbent and soft. Hopefully
they also had natural anti septic properties. Can't be bad
for your bumb. The cons is they're not easy to

(03:08):
find in dry seasons and they also require harvesting in
tropical regions, if you can't find a good banana tree,
you can also rely on coconut shells and husk fibers.

(03:30):
In tropical regions like Polynesia and South Asia, coconut husks
were repurposed core fibers. The outer shell husk were sometimes
softened before use. Coconut shells were smooth and used as

(03:51):
scraping tools. Pros here. They're readily available in tropical climates.
Cons though, they do have a rough texture unless softened
and might require processing before use. And did you say scraping?

(04:18):
How about some cultural methods. Roman La trains were communal
and featured a sea sponge attached to a wooden or
reed stick. After use, the sponge was rinsed in running
water or soaked in a vinegar solution. I'd go for

(04:43):
at least that good news. Because these were shared among
users in public restrooms, you didn't have to bring your own.
Pros they were reusable and soft. Cons are major hygiene concerns,

(05:05):
spread of disease and well. The maintenance required of the
Greeks often used passoi, which were small, smooth stones or
broken pottery pieces. My goodness, some shards had inscriptions, and

(05:30):
some were believed to have enemy names on them as
a form of symbolic insult. These were durable and always available.
Cons were They were hard and uncomfortable. You had risk
of injury. During the sixth century a D. The Chinese,

(06:00):
these were pioneers of paper hygiene. The written records from
fifteen eighty nine AD mentioned paper for toilet use. By
the fourteenth century, the Imperial Court produced millions of sheets

(06:21):
specifically for this purpose. Pros are a soft, effective, and
culturally advanced, though very expensive at first and not widely
available to lower classes. During the medieval times and Renaissance,

(06:47):
they had their own alternatives. You could always count on
some hay straw or corn husks. These were common among
medieval European peasants. Corn Cobs were widely used in North
America before paper became common. They were cheap, widely available,

(07:15):
but they were rough and not very absorbent, even scratchy.
The nobility and wealthier classes in medieval Europe often used
soft wool or linen cloth. Now we're talking. Some households
had reusable cloth strips which were washed and reused. Pros were.

(07:40):
They were soft and comfortable, cons well, required frequent washing,
and they were only available usually to the rich. If
you were in a coastal region, particularly in early island civilization,

(08:01):
you could rely on a seashell. Seashells were used more
as a scraper rather than an absorbent material, but they
were durable and always available near the shore. They were
extremely uncomfortable, and, as with shards of pottery, also had

(08:22):
risks of cuts. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, thank goodness,
they finally came up with newspapers and catalogs. These were
widely available and were often repurposed for hygiene. The Sears

(08:44):
Roebuck catalog was famously used in our houses, with pages
torn out as needed. Some catalogs even had pre punched
holes for hanging on a hook. These were free, absorbent
and widely available. Cons were that the ink could smudge,

(09:07):
they had a rough texture and not biodegradable like modern
toilet paper. Many homes, especially working class households, used rags
that were washed and re used, similar to modern cloth diapers.
In function, these were soft and sustainable, but very labor

(09:31):
intensive to clean and brought hygiene concerns. The bedey was
developed in the seventeenth century France. The day was a
small basin used to clean with water. Early versions were
standalone basins, and later plumped versions were installed in bathrooms.

(09:53):
These were highly hygienic and had no waste, but were
expensive and required running. You wouldn't believe it, but snow
and ice were used by Inuit and other Arctic peoples.
Sometimes the cold had a numbing effect, making it slightly

(10:16):
more tolerable. It was available year round and in cold climates.
It's very cold and not practical outside of Arctic regions.
Many desert cultures use sand as a drying agent after washing.
Water Cleansing using a jug has been a traditional practice

(10:40):
for thousands of years. Islamic and Hindu traditions emphasize water
purification for hygiene. This can be highly effective and is hygienic,
but requires access to water and sand can be abrasive. Lastly,

(11:01):
for today, the most tried and true method good old
fashioned hands and water. Many cultures, especially in India, Indonesia,
and the Middle East, have traditionally used water and the
left hand for cleaning. The right hand was reserved for eating,

(11:25):
while the left was designated for hygiene. Water was poured
from a container the prose here as it was thorough
cleaning and no waiste the cons well, it required a
water source and this led to cultural taboos around left
hand use. Folks, that's all the time we have for

(11:47):
today's episode of What we Did Before toilet paper.