Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

nautil.us

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 216 posts

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#41

Post by icebraining »

pksadiq wrote: post #34
icebraining wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> green Well, increased water consumption has a lot of ecological problems as well. Plus most of us westerners would probably balk at using cold water, so we'd waste a lot of energy heating it up too.

> Well, increased water consumption has a lot of ecological problems as well. Well, using paper costs more water than using water itself. Also, the ecological problems of using paper is far worse than using water alone[0][1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_paper [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_paper#Environmental_con...

Absolutely, I wouldn't call TP "green" either.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#42

Post by frogpelt »

taivare wrote: post #40
throwmex wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an Indian, I too had this WTF moment. It makes me wonder why paper is still used in the western world. Makes one wonder if there is a TP lobby out there ? We used to make jokes what if a TP user have diarrhea, how many trees will that be ? If a bird shits on your hand will you use paper or water to clean it ? Its just that simple to comprehend. Just use water damn it. Cheap, hygienic, no left overs and green too !

Here's my WTF moment. My grandmother told me, she was born in 1901 as a kid on a rural PA farm. They used pages from a Sears wish book or dried corn cobs,out at the old out house!

Exactly. The downfall of Sears began with indoor plumbing and high-gloss paper in their catalogs.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#43

Post by Noumenon72 »

rayiner wrote: post #19
jayalpha wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does a bidet really clean you? Did you buy one in the states?

Yes, it’s a nice high pressure jet of warm water. At least in Tokyo, toilet paper is also provided, and you can double check by wiping after. They’re definitely going in when we redo the bathrooms in our house.

This misrepresents it, at least in my disappointing experience. The jet is nowhere near powerful enough to spray off poop. You are going to be getting most of it with your fingers and the jet just helps wash it away.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#44

Post by asveikau »

adminu wrote: post #10

I wonder why so many articles today have so many words but yet so little content? This one has a mile-long introduction. The headlines question could have been answered in rather few words. I feel a short answer had satisfied me. To make it even more frustrating to me the article teases different but-wiping techniques used today without telling me which ones. Thanks for that... I said I wonder why, I guess that was a…

As a father I found the tangent about the kids doing their business on a family vacation relatable, funny, pleasant, joyous. You may find it extraneous but others of us are enjoying the odd tangents in our lives.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#45

Post by Youden »

huffmsa wrote: post #39
adminu wrote: post #10

I wonder why so many articles today have so many words but yet so little content? This one has a mile-long introduction. The headlines question could have been answered in rather few words. I feel a short answer had satisfied me. To make it even more frustrating to me the article teases different but-wiping techniques used today without telling me which ones. Thanks for that... I said I wonder why, I guess that was a…

You prefer 10 Ways Roman toilet practices were weird! Number 2 will shock you! ? No thanks, I like a conversational story. This Wis written like how the author would tell it live. Humans remember things best when there is a bit of narrative to root the facts to.

Personally narrative only helps me remember when I care about it, which usually isn't the case when I read this kind of article.

For me the endless fluff around the information is just wasted time.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#46

Post by Youden »

grosswait wrote: post #23
throwmex wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an Indian, I too had this WTF moment. It makes me wonder why paper is still used in the western world. Makes one wonder if there is a TP lobby out there ? We used to make jokes what if a TP user have diarrhea, how many trees will that be ? If a bird shits on your hand will you use paper or water to clean it ? Its just that simple to comprehend. Just use water damn it. Cheap, hygienic, no left overs and green too !

Water is not universally abundant though and much more costly to transport than paper or wood.

The western toilets we're talking about are flushed with water, so this seems to be a non-issue.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#47

Post by guitarbill »

jayalpha wrote: post #22
lostmsu wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started using integrated bidet after the last move within US last year. The previous owners had that installed. It is great! Don't think you need to use wipes after.

Oh. I just googled "bidet". I thought it is "integrated" in a Japanese toilet? Or do you mean this additional "installation"?

It is integrated in a washlet/electronic bidet/japanese toilet, but in Europe, you still commonly see bidets as separate ceramic bowls.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#48

Post by tres »

Today, toilet paper is ubiquitous in Western cultures; it’s a US$9.5 billion-a-year industry in the United States. Americans, in their typical excess, use more than 50 pounds per person per year! About 1.75 tons of raw fiber are required to manufacture each ton of toilet paper. That doesn’t seem sustainable, and frankly, I’m surprised that people haven’t protested more as a result.

Given these numbers and the marketing efforts behind them, it’s hard to argue that the use of toilet paper is somehow natural. On the contrary, toilet paper is nothing more than a technology. So the next time you’re enjoying a morning constitutional, think about the fact that defecation and urination are more than biological functions; they are cultural activities that involve artifacts and technologies that change through time.

My takeaways:

* Lots of opportunity in taking on the "dirty jobs" that don't get the glamor.

* Something so ubiquitous and integral to our daily lives is a relatively recent introduction... It's not "perfect," nor "finished;" thinking about this mainstay as a piece of technology that can be made better holds opportunity.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#49

Post by rand84545 »

Noumenon72 wrote: post #43
rayiner wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it’s a nice high pressure jet of warm water. At least in Tokyo, toilet paper is also provided, and you can double check by wiping after. They’re definitely going in when we redo the bathrooms in our house.

This misrepresents it, at least in my disappointing experience. The jet is nowhere near powerful enough to spray off poop. You are going to be getting most of it with your fingers and the jet just helps wash it away.

The trick, at least for the hose based system, is to put your finger in front of the stream to increase pressure.
Post reply on HN