What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper? • Hacker News Board

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#511

Post by raintrees » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 6:15 PM UTC

josefresco wrote: post #479

VVyattPrentice wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you get them from the stall to the trash?

You must be talking about a public toilet? I think most "normal" or home toilet routines go out the window when using a public restroom.

And then there is the mountain-climbing poo experience... I would guess that eventually (when the plastic degrades) there is some rather lush, fertile groundscaping at the foot of some of those places.

I have raised chickens, after a year or so to "cook" (I am a low-intensity composter) we end up with some pretty rich compost.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#512

Post by RichardCA » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 6:16 PM UTC

hsrada wrote: post #404

darklajid wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly did. But the descriptions (just like the StackExchange link's replies) are utterly alien to me (squat..? How?) and I haven't found it in me to go on a video hunt (the StackExchange one links to something which supposedly is safe and helpful).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dKkryfdtMNQ Not sure how I feel about sharing this here but yeah, this should answer some of those questions. The Youtuber is.. A 'comedian'..

Thanks, I was waiting for someone to post that one. :)

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#513

Post by nrb » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 6:39 PM UTC

marshray wrote: post #228

nrb wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Indeed, this one of the many reasons some night clubs have bathroom attendants.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#514

Post by Rhinobird » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

_asummers wrote: post #433

dotancohen wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A side benefit of the paper towel is that in-swinging doors can be pulled with the paper, not your hand. Imagine how many people _didn't_ wash their hands then pulled that door.

Trivially fixable by a little foot hook on the bottom of the door intended to be used to open the door after you're done.

What if you have no foot? Or the foot hook isn't there? Or you have to turn a knob?

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#515

Post by heywire » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 7:26 PM UTC

wheresmyusern wrote: post #299

we seriously need a better solution for toilets. toilets use huge amounts of water. if you want to have a toilet in a moving vehicle, or anywhere that is not directly connected to a sewage line and a giant water treatment plant, then you are just out of luck because all the mobile toilet solutions out there suck. it amazes me that a good solution has evaded us for so long. when considering how to travel where-ever i…

Reminds me of the diaper genie :)

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#516

Post by rocho » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 7:42 PM UTC

Johnny555 wrote: post #455

tikkabhuna wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After our trip to Cambodia we wanted to bring the "Bum Gun" to the UK. For those who haven't tried it, it's the weirdest thing and sounds disgusting. To quote a crazy Canadian we met, "if you had poo on your arm and you wiped it off with toilet paper, would you say its clean?" That said, SE Asia really lends itself to the Bum Gun. Its warm and can be humid, so you're not really worried about being a bit damp afterwar…

"if you had poo on your arm and you wiped it off with toilet paper, would you say its clean?" If you had poo on your arm and rinsed it with a gentle spray of plain water, would you say it's clean? If I had poo on my arm, I'd use soap and water to clean it then rinse well. Of course, if my arm was what was generating the poo, I'd probably be less fastidious about keeping it clean and free of poo. And I'd see a doctor.

> If I had poo on my arm, I'd use soap and water to clean it then rinse well.

That is why the only acceptable option is using a bidet, with soap of course. It boggles my mind that some people can withstand even the thought of cleaning themselves with just paper or wet wipes.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#517

Post by jessriedel » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 7:58 PM UTC

neeleshs wrote: post #390

jessriedel wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Even in the USA, it is fairly trivial to attach a bidet. Being from India, I could not live without it and went on to install it in all our bathrooms. Takes less than 30 minutes to install one, and you can order one from Amazon

But they break and make cleaning more difficult.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#518

Post by jessriedel » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 7:59 PM UTC

inapis wrote: post #360

jessriedel wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

>Can a bidet user explain why bidets are superior to just having a nearby faucet to dampen the toilet paper, like this? Water pressure. I live on the 5th floor of a 16 floor building with the water tank at the top. The pressure of the bidet is enough to clean everything off in seconds. The risk of splash is only when you use it incorrectly. Just sit for a minute or two extra to let gravity do it's work on the excess…

Sit for a minute or two on the toilet waiting for all the water to drip off?

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#519

Post by jessriedel » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 8:03 PM UTC

kalleboo wrote: post #416

jessriedel wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Where I live, toilet paper is mandated to dissolve in water at a certain rate (to avoid clogging the sewage), and that rate precludes dampening the paper sufficiently.

I guess? I don't know if your paper dissolves vastly faster than the standard stuff in US and Canadian stores. I haven't had a problem, but to each his own.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#520

Post by jessriedel » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

adiabatty wrote: post #295

jessriedel wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Before I put a bidet attachment on my toilet, my flushable-wipe usage was about a median of 3 and a mean of probably 4. Sometimes I just had to keep wiping to make sure _everything_ was gone from underneath, and I make sure my wipes are extra-wet with witch hazel. Now, my flushable-wipe usage has a median and mode of 1, with a mean of maybe 1.2. The long right-hand tail is considerably shorter and not as tall. All th…

Sure, spraying with a bunch of water will minimize paper usage, just like lightly dampening the paper with water will minimize water usage. But both amounts are so trivial compared to the water and paper product usage by a typical person that most of us aren't optimizing for this.