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What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

nautil.us

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Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#151

Post by nextos »

gcb0 wrote: post #131
firekvz wrote: post #105

Funny story, as a Venezuelan and having toilet paper shortages I was forced to go water and soap. Never comming back, not even with all the toilet paper in the world The feeling is shared with alot of friends (we joke about this as a way to keep the good mood agains the crisis) but a lot of people have realized that toilet paper is not the correct way plus a huge waste of money (we have to pay around 0.5$ per roll no…

The legend goes that bidets where associated with whorehouses in literature from europe (as most literature not focusing on body fluids would not have reasons to mention bidets), so that when apartments started to be retrofitted for plumbing (initially for a kitchen!) in the USA, the extremely puritanical society left the bidets out.

Bidets are quite common in France and Spain, but I haven't seen many anywhere else in EU.

A really practical solution to simulate a real bidet is to buy bidet cleansing foam and/or a portable bidet.

You spray the cleansing foam into regular toilet paper, and it does improve performance a lot. Afterwards, just use the portable bidet.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#152

Post by sureaboutthis »

firekvz wrote: post #105

Funny story, as a Venezuelan and having toilet paper shortages I was forced to go water and soap. Never comming back, not even with all the toilet paper in the world The feeling is shared with alot of friends (we joke about this as a way to keep the good mood agains the crisis) but a lot of people have realized that toilet paper is not the correct way plus a huge waste of money (we have to pay around 0.5$ per roll no…

> Venezuelans are on my same position

I see what you did there.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#154

Post by throwayEngineer »

firekvz wrote: post #105

Funny story, as a Venezuelan and having toilet paper shortages I was forced to go water and soap. Never comming back, not even with all the toilet paper in the world The feeling is shared with alot of friends (we joke about this as a way to keep the good mood agains the crisis) but a lot of people have realized that toilet paper is not the correct way plus a huge waste of money (we have to pay around 0.5$ per roll no…

Bidets are cold water? And you need a "rag"?

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#157

Post by yial »

selimthegrim wrote: post #115
yial wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having just recently returned from Kolkata, India ... I agree the chicken tastes so much different, and better. The bananas too ! No comparison to the bananas in the US.

What else suffers in comparison? The fruit?

Mangos are better.

But fruit that doesn’t come in a wrapper, due to the water exposure and things can be somewhat dubious quality at times. (By wrapper I mean a skin that’s removable).

Potatoes and eggplant generally tasted the same to me, as did carrots.

Jackfruit is much better in India too.

Interesting note about the chicken, and this is anecdotal, but I’m pretty sure the chickens are a different bread then what we consume in the US. The bones always seemed thicker with less meat. (Which I believe is a chicken that’s been less bread for consumption )

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#158

Post by vagab0nd »

Just try a bidet, please. It's so worth it.

I had a "itchy butt" for the longest time. Tried many methods, saw many doctors (not fun!). Found no real solution. Flushable wet wipes helped somewhat, but didn't completely solve the problem and it would come back from time to time. Plus I was seriously concerned about clogging.

Then tried a bidet for a week, and... years of pain (I mean, itchiness), gone, just like that.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#159

Post by phonypc »

throwmex wrote: post #15
rayiner wrote: post #3

When we moved from Bangladesh to the US in the late 1980s, there were a couple of things that made us go “WTF?” One was the taste of chicken. In Bangladesh, you go buy a scrawny live chicken from the market and butcher it. It took me the better part of a year to be able to stomach American chicken, which tastes like wet cardboard in comparison. The other “WTF” thing was toilet paper. In Bangladesh, you rinse with wat…

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 !

>If a bird shits on your hand will you use paper or water to clean it ?

If I didn't also have soap, I'd use paper over water. Water might leave you visibly cleaner, but you'll spread microscopic poop particles and microbes over a much larger area.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#160

Post by tptacek »

yial wrote: post #157
selimthegrim wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What else suffers in comparison? The fruit?

Mangos are better. But fruit that doesn’t come in a wrapper, due to the water exposure and things can be somewhat dubious quality at times. (By wrapper I mean a skin that’s removable). Potatoes and eggplant generally tasted the same to me, as did carrots. Jackfruit is much better in India too. Interesting note about the chicken, and this is anecdotal, but I’m pretty sure the chickens are a different bread then what w…

They almost certainly are a different breed; there are a bunch of chicken breeds indigenous to India. The are Indian chickens bred for egg-laying and those for meat. Also, the age of the chicken when slaughtered is a pretty big factor in how much flavor it has, as is the diet, which is probably the major reason supermarket CAFO chicken is flavorless.

Obviously, another problem America has with chicken is its addiction to chicken breast, which is really tricky to do well.

Can I just point out that this is a pretty weird combination of topics for a thread?

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