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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?

#221

Post by globuous »

gkya wrote: post #18
tlb wrote: post #2

My uncle was an engineer for a toilet paper manufacturing plant, that took logs in one end and put TP rolls out the other end. The path was over a mile long. He worked on variable speed electronic drives for the 1000 horsepower motors that turned the machinery. TP illustrates the triumph of civilization: 1000s of people all doing specialized jobs so billions of people can each avoid a daily unpleasantness.

This made me recall immediately the "I, pencil" article. It's stunning to remember that almost anything one gets to touch or see throughout the day is a product of almost always global collaboration, if we include a things conception with its production, and also transportation, selling, etc.

Going off of that, when I realized that an ice cube was proof of incredible engineerning and that in terms of mankind, it's brand new tech !! I "couldn't believe it". I got that the concept of freezing water was some complex thermodynamics, but never realized it implied I couldn't make an ice cube without it when it's hot outside ! I thought the French had been drinking cold champagne all these years ! (turns out they have, since mostly only the rich ere drinking it and they were using various caves to keep cold temperatures, and they shipped ice from the Alpes; no source on my hands, but that's what I remember when looking into it).

Shizzles, I couldn't make a simple flame by myself ;p

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#222

Post by mixmastamyk »

Crisco wrote: post #121
pwython wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, when someone says "it sure feels strange, and very difficult to get used," it doesn't have to be negative. You can take it as a "character flaw" jibe, but it's really just an observation. source: American that is still in shock by septic tank users that have to throw their feces-paper in the trashcan.

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…

The fact that the vast majority of people don't travel more than a week or two (if ever) probably contributes to the lack of perspective.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#224

Post by jwhitlark »

tyingq wrote: post #193
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…

Perhaps NSFW, but being frank so it's clear what I'm saying. There's cultural differences the other direction. German toilets catch feces on what we called a "shit shelf" instead letting it fall and submerge in water. Which, of course, made for a pretty bad odor situation. And in Turkey, the "toilet" was a hole in the ground. Even in the Hilton, it was a fancy carved marble and gold leaf "4 inch diameter hole in the…

That's surprising. All the times I've been to Turkey, I've only seen a couple of squat toilets. I saw far more in Japan.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#225

Post by nrb »

drewmol wrote: post #183
bandrami wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the end goal is making it harder to do heroin in a bathroom.

Haha, probably cocaine as well. Some public restrooms seem designed to minimize flat surfaces, private access to clean water, and secluded locations, while others (like in some night clubs) have randomly placed shelves with hard, easily wipeable surfaces, etc.

Not entirely random: you need a place to set your drink while using the restroom.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#226

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#227

Post by tyingq »

jwhitlark wrote: post #224
tyingq wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps NSFW, but being frank so it's clear what I'm saying. There's cultural differences the other direction. German toilets catch feces on what we called a "shit shelf" instead letting it fall and submerge in water. Which, of course, made for a pretty bad odor situation. And in Turkey, the "toilet" was a hole in the ground. Even in the Hilton, it was a fancy carved marble and gold leaf "4 inch diameter hole in the…

That's surprising. All the times I've been to Turkey, I've only seen a couple of squat toilets. I saw far more in Japan.

Hmm. Lived in Izmir for a couple of years, and the gilded hole in the floor was specifically the (otherwise posh) Izmir Hilton and the toilet in my apartment, at Kushadasi beach, friends house's etc. It was early 90's, so maybe something changed?

I did end up buying a normal toilet and mounting it over the hole in my apartment.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#228

Post by marshray »

nrb wrote: post #225
drewmol wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, probably cocaine as well. Some public restrooms seem designed to minimize flat surfaces, private access to clean water, and secluded locations, while others (like in some night clubs) have randomly placed shelves with hard, easily wipeable surfaces, etc.

Not entirely random: you need a place to set your drink while using the restroom.

In a public restroom, if there's a place to set a drink, trash cups will accumulate there. Then someone will have to be paid to clean them up.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#229

Post by Balgair »

mrnobody_67 wrote: post #204
Balgair wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You all don't have 'trough' urinals either. The US and Australia both use them frequently in high traffic areas, but the Aussie floor-to-wall version is a lot 'easier' to use and clean.

Those things make me feel like an animal. Especially when the floor is a metal grate overtop of part of the trough.

I'm 'meh' about it. We're all just mammals, albeit without the good olfactory sense so many others seem to have. It's not like any of us spend a lot of time in there.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#230

Post by daxauthor »

pkd wrote: post #143
hellofunk wrote: post #16

The article says that certain remote and rural areas of Asia still don't use toilet paper. However, this is also true of most of the Philippines, including middle- and upper-class areas in major cities. It's not an issue only of economic stability or access to it, but also just a cultural one. I've been in upscale restaurants in Manila where there was no toilet paper in the bathrooms. They use a little bucket of wate…

This is true of almost all of India too. I'd wager than more than 60% of the world's population uses some technique superior to toilet paper.

Yes, I wonder if some one should do R&D on whether water is better.
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