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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?

#331

Post by dancek »

toephu2 wrote: post #264
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.

Except TP is not the solution. If a bird pooped on your arm, would you rather use a dry paper towel to clean it off or water?

That's a common argument, and a flawed one at that IMHO. If a bird pooped on a table, would you rub it off with your bare finger with some soap water, or would you use paper? (Granted, even this might give you the hint that dry paper isn't always the best idea.)

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#332

Post by rnet85 »

3pt14159 wrote: post #58
tlarkworthy wrote: post #8

I think a machine vision directed spray is the future. I don't fancy collecting the training data though.

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

and the data can be stolen by an analytics company which may use it to manipulate elections.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#333

Post by lulmerchant »

Avshalom wrote: post #171
lulmerchant wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, nothing has brought a greater level of prosperity and equality to the world than free market capitalism. This is simply an empirical fact. Just like it is an empirical fact that every socialist nation in history has created huge levels of poverty and inequality.

I feel like the fall of the British Empire and subsequent reversion to the mean is probably responsible for most of that prosperity.

The revision to what mean? The pre-British empire mean? Because pre-British empire wasn’t exactly a prosperous period.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#334

Post by dancek »

irrational wrote: post #307

My grandfather grew up on a farm. He said they always had a bucket of corn husks in the outhouse and that was what you used. He was totally serious. If cheap toilet paper makes my bum feel raw, I can't even imagine what a corn husk would do to it.

Here in Finland, some public toilets used to have a piece of wood attached to a chain in the early 1900s. Everyone carried their own puukko (a traditional Finnish knife) and could carve shavings for cleaning up.

I always knew Finnish people were rough and tough back in the day, but this gave me a whole new perspective.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#335

Post by pzs »

darklajid wrote: post #329
reolbox wrote: post #300

For 22 years I used toilet paper until I traveled to South East Asia where every toilet has a seperate sprinkler. After a few toilet visits I decided to give it a GO. Man, toilet paper feels strange and plain stupid now. Water is way cheaper, doesn't hurt your "behind" and I feel cleaner afterwards. Paper seems an invention to sell something we really don't need (by Mad Men :-)).

There are lots of places here in SG that have these toilets. They ... freak me out, tbh. Mostly because I have not the faintest idea how you'd use them and "So, how do you do your business" is not among the list of conversations I want to have. This whole floor (hosting six companies I think?) in a prominent office tower has one shared male restroom. Two booths. One is usable for me, the other one the scary thing. Mo…

May be a naïve question: have you tried googling the topic?

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#336

Post by lsc »

reolbox wrote: post #300

For 22 years I used toilet paper until I traveled to South East Asia where every toilet has a seperate sprinkler. After a few toilet visits I decided to give it a GO. Man, toilet paper feels strange and plain stupid now. Water is way cheaper, doesn't hurt your "behind" and I feel cleaner afterwards. Paper seems an invention to sell something we really don't need (by Mad Men :-)).

So, my current employers have the, uh, washlets you describe, real high grade ones with a heater and a dryer. And I use them for the wash cycle, but I've found that I still prefer to dry off using toilet paper; the air dry function, even though it's heated just takes to damn long.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#337

Post by bhnmmhmd »

reolbox wrote: post #300

For 22 years I used toilet paper until I traveled to South East Asia where every toilet has a seperate sprinkler. After a few toilet visits I decided to give it a GO. Man, toilet paper feels strange and plain stupid now. Water is way cheaper, doesn't hurt your "behind" and I feel cleaner afterwards. Paper seems an invention to sell something we really don't need (by Mad Men :-)).

Agreed. They use water in Iran, too. Other than religious considerations (that only water will really clean mess), it actually feels better and cleaner.

Plus, their toilets have a different shape, something like this:

https://behsakala.com/image/cache/data/products/-پارمیس-گلسا...

As far as I've heard, this form of toilet is better and easier for colons.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#338

Post by PeterisP »

dancek wrote: post #331
toephu2 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except TP is not the solution. If a bird pooped on your arm, would you rather use a dry paper towel to clean it off or water?

That's a common argument, and a flawed one at that IMHO. If a bird pooped on a table, would you rub it off with your bare finger with some soap water, or would you use paper? (Granted, even this might give you the hint that dry paper isn't always the best idea.)

Well no, the whole point is that there's shit on you in the first place already, not touching it is not an option.

You clean your arse with water so that it's clean and not just wiped with paper, just as you afterwards will wash your hands instead of just wiping them on a paper towel.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#339

Post by chillingeffect »

While we're eon the subject: since I switched to a high-fiber diet, my toilet paper needs (and throne time) have decreased dramatically. Particularly blended kale, including the stalks, leads to quick, efficient bowel movements. It goes by so fast I don't have time to do anything on my phone. I am way faster than those around me, and my wipes have almost no material, because the poop itself is more cohesive.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#340

Post by afroboy »

bhnmmhmd wrote: post #337
reolbox wrote: post #300

For 22 years I used toilet paper until I traveled to South East Asia where every toilet has a seperate sprinkler. After a few toilet visits I decided to give it a GO. Man, toilet paper feels strange and plain stupid now. Water is way cheaper, doesn't hurt your "behind" and I feel cleaner afterwards. Paper seems an invention to sell something we really don't need (by Mad Men :-)).

Agreed. They use water in Iran, too. Other than religious considerations (that only water will really clean mess), it actually feels better and cleaner. Plus, their toilets have a different shape, something like this: https://behsakala.com/image/cache/data/products/-پارمیس-گلسا... As far as I've heard, this form of toilet is better and easier for colons.

All Arabs and Muslim countries use water to clean too, and that toilet too is used by 90% in Arabs homes and in public toilet is considered must have since it's easy to clean.
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