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What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

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Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#211

Post by dang »

gkya wrote: post #95
makotech222 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe OP was talking about trade throughout the world.

The USers should learn that there's a other continents, let alone countries. Do they not teach geography in primary schools there? Whenever I post sth about a global problem here there's always some people coming up with links to some data or wiki page on the instance of that in the US, which give me cringes.

National slights, regardless of nation being slighted, aren't ok here. You've done this before, unfortunately. Would you please not do it again? It's obviously uncivil. If people can't respect each other here, they can't comment here.

Because of HN's origins, it's often the case that there's some ambiguity about whether a statement is scoped to the US or more widely. The fix for that is disambiguation, not taking or making insults.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#212

Post by davewasthere »

neves wrote: post #92

American would spare a lot of money in toilet paper if they had this simple device in all their bathrooms: https://www.google.com.br/search?q=ducha+higi%C3%AAnica&clie...

I'd guess that most people who've travelled have seen something similar (in SO many countries). It's just the western post-Victorian world that seems to have such an aversion to poo.

Washing is definitely far superior. Yay Romans! (although not so much for shared poo-sponge)

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#213

Post by komali2 »

oh_sigh wrote: post #153
3pt14159 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please no. I don't want asshole recognition software tracking my movements from washroom to washroom.

Are you suggesting that each human has a unique anus-print? Or is this just some shitty theory of yours?

Each human actually does have a unique anus print and I'm pretty sure it was pornhub that figured this out. If I find the article I'll edit.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#214

Post by komali2 »

donw wrote: post #178
Baeocystin wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bidet use is accelerating rapidly* in the US. Which doesn't surprise me, really. When I got one, most of my family was surprised. As they tried it out of curiosity, most of them were really happy with how clean they felt, and have gone on to get one for their own homes. I'm sure they have other friends that come over and will experience the same. It's an exponential effect. (* source: https://www.proremodeler.com/bid…

If I have taken only one thing away from living in Japan for near-on a decade, it is that the washlet (aka the cyber-bidet) is, quite possibly, mankind's greatest invention. The predecessor to the above were small squeeze bottles full of water, and you can still buy various versions of these today, which are heaven-on-earth as a wilderness backpacker. I picked up a travel bidet[1] for backpacking, and it has proven t…

Hooooly shit I never thought of this for backpacking.

You're a life saver. Accidentally pulling out my shit wipe Ziploc is my least favorite part of backpacking.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#215

Post by davidw »

lainga wrote: post #99
bambax wrote: post #54

> To ancient Romans, the practice of sitting on a shared toilet in an open room full of people was entirely ordinary. That's a funny thing to say for an American, because, to Europeans, American toilets are much too public: doors don't go to the floor or ceiling, and even "walls" are thin sheets of wood/plastic loosely joined together with huge spaces between them. It seems, Americans don't trust one another to sit a…

This is the 6th post I have seen this week along the formula (1) I am from Europe and I went to America. (2) Americans do things in a way I find unusual and/or distressing. (3) The cause must be a character flaw shared by all Americans (security and puritanical reasons...?).

I'm from America, lived in Europe, and definitely prefer European toilets at the office. It's an actual room that gives you real privacy.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#216

Post by wstrange »

adventured wrote: post #179
Crisco wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in the Dominican Republic for a few years, and it was a little weird to me at first, but after a while you get used to putting dirty paper in the trash. I never once had to deal with a clogged toilet. After moving back to the USA it was just as weird to put paper in the toilets (though drinking the same water you bathe in was the weirdest part). I think people exaggerate the weirdness and difficulty of adjust…

> though drinking the same water you bathe in was the weirdest part Surely you mean the water that enters the house via plumbing, is used for both bathing and drinking from via a faucet. As opposed to drinking bath water. Is the weirdness of that because they don't drink tap water in the Dominican?

Unless you are on well, you don't drink tap water in most places in the DR

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#217

Post by ars »

manav wrote: post #69
tziki wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doubt it would take off, considering the low adoption rates of "regular" spray toilets in the west. It's a relatively marginal improvement after all.

Cost of bidets are coming down a lot with more domestic manufacturers. At $200-300 for a Toto-like attachment I upgraded all of my toilets. It's hard to go back once you are used to it.

You don't need to pay so much, you can get some that attach under the seat for $30.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#218

Post by ars »

jessriedel wrote: post #201
kragen wrote: post #24

When I moved to Argentina, it took me a while to get used to bidets. But now that I'm used to them, I never use toilet paper voluntarily. It leaves your butt still dirty! As someone said, if you got poop on your arm, maybe while changing a diaper, would you wipe it off with a piece of paper and consider it clean? No, not if you're from the mainstream of any developed country. You would use water, soap, and maybe more…

Honest question: Can a bidet user explain why bidets are superior to just having a nearby faucet to dampen the toilet paper, like this?: https://d193qi3ct19t6b.cloudfront.net/products/24229/regular... Having a separate system and jet of water seems like a lot more complexity with increased risk of splash. And the cleaning properties of dampened paper seem strictly better than a stream of water. Just like I wouldn't w…

The bidet does not need to be stand alone. You can get them for under $30 that attach under the seat.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#219

Post by mrfusion »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #56
bambax wrote: post #54

> To ancient Romans, the practice of sitting on a shared toilet in an open room full of people was entirely ordinary. That's a funny thing to say for an American, because, to Europeans, American toilets are much too public: doors don't go to the floor or ceiling, and even "walls" are thin sheets of wood/plastic loosely joined together with huge spaces between them. It seems, Americans don't trust one another to sit a…

> It seems, Americans don't trust one another to sit alone in a toilet; I still don't know if it's for security purposes (to check if someone has a heart failure?) or puritanical reasons (make sure people aren't having sex?) but it sure feels strange, and very difficult to get used to when one comes from a different culture. I've always thought it was far less interesting than that: they're cheaper and faster to inst…

I always thought it was for ease of mopping?

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#220

Post by matte_black »

davidw wrote: post #215
lainga wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the 6th post I have seen this week along the formula (1) I am from Europe and I went to America. (2) Americans do things in a way I find unusual and/or distressing. (3) The cause must be a character flaw shared by all Americans (security and puritanical reasons...?).

I'm from America, lived in Europe, and definitely prefer European toilets at the office. It's an actual room that gives you real privacy.

This notion of privacy probably results in people taking way longer to do their business. Americans don’t have time for that shit.
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