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What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

nautil.us

181–190 of 216 posts

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#181
post #164

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…

Forgive my ignorance, but how does ‘water and soap’ work? I can immediately see the application of a tersorium, but not water and soap.

[deleted]

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#182
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forgive my ignorance, but how does ‘water and soap’ work? I can immediately see the application of a tersorium, but not water and soap.

Just shower after you do your business, you can imagine the rest.

My ‘business’ area and shower are not one and the same though :P shall I make a trip through the living room first?

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#183
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Water has a really high heat capacity, meaning that it takes a lot of energy to heat. Intuitively, how much water do you think the toilet paper of one bathroom visit would heat, if usef as fuel? (Answer: much less than what you would use to replace TP)

How much energy is used to make TP and transport it to your local store?

Sure, there's that. Otoh the water will alo have a big energy footprint before heating in the avg municipal water service case. But these things don't really change the order of magnitude energy difference that exists in the setup.

I got curious and did a napkin calculation.

A sheet of TP weights 1.5 grams and you might generously use 10 sheets per visit. Assuming fuel properties of wood, that's 250 kJ of heat energy when burned. That's enough to heat only 1.5 kg of 10C mains water to body temperature.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...so you have to use your hands to clean shit out of your ass? This does not sound like a good thing.

They wash their hands. What's so gross about them going extra lengths to cleanse themselves? Its not like they're going to then ignore their very hands, considering for many, its a religious law to be clean. It seems like bidet fear but 10x. For no good reason.

You sound like you enjoy eating shit lol

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#186

Americans don't have a high ground here. The first time I used a modern bidet was eye-opening. It eliminates the funk. It's environmentally friendly. It's easier on the bum, if you have hemmaroids (I don't, but this is the report from friends and family that do suffer). And it just feels refreshing. The toilet paper is only needed to sanity check cleanliness and dry out. The American squeamishness over the bidet is i…

OK I've seen the bidet crowd grow for years. Never used one but how does it actually remove all the filth? If I got shit on my arm or something I wouldn't be satisfied squirting some water on it - I'd scrub scrub scrub. I just can't see how it does as good a job. Any input? Also - how do you prevent the bidet from becoming a fecal squirtgun? It sits inside the toilet no? Aren't you in effect washing off with everyone…

Yes, you are scrubbing with your (usually left) hand. It may sound disgusting but actually feels really, really clean.

> how do you prevent the bidet from becoming a fecal squirtgun?

I have the same concern about the bidets installed inside toilets. Using "bum guns" which hang next to the toilet solves that problem though!

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#187
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, if you just spray and pray you’re going to have a bad time. The way I was taught as a Middle Eastern man was: first use toilet paper at least three times to remove the majority of the material. Secondly, hold the spray hose or the bottle in your right hand and point downwards towards your perineum from the FRONT of your legs. Use your left hand to lift your junk and have two fingers down there. Now pour water o…

...so you have to use your hands to clean shit out of your ass? This does not sound like a good thing.

It doesn't sound like a good thing until you have tried it!

More detailed instructions in case you want to try it: https://www.thailandclimbing.com/chiang-mai/how-to-use-a-squ...

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK I've seen the bidet crowd grow for years. Never used one but how does it actually remove all the filth? If I got shit on my arm or something I wouldn't be satisfied squirting some water on it - I'd scrub scrub scrub. I just can't see how it does as good a job. Any input? Also - how do you prevent the bidet from becoming a fecal squirtgun? It sits inside the toilet no? Aren't you in effect washing off with everyone…

If you had shit on your arm you'd just scrub it without water? Filipino uses a system called tabo, or sometimes a hand hose bidet (I call it the bum gun). If the pressure of bum gun is strong enough, well, it's like a pressure gun. You shoot it at 45 degrees angle (cause 90 hurts lol). If the pressure is not strong enough, then use it like tabo. Tabo is a water scoop. You water your hand, you water your butt, then yo…

I also wouldn't just rinse it with water.

And what of the fecal aggregate?

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#189
post #164

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…

Forgive my ignorance, but how does ‘water and soap’ work? I can immediately see the application of a tersorium, but not water and soap.

Use a small hose to wash off the stuff. Use soap, a hand, and water to wash off anything remaining.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#190

I have read the glowing endorsements of bidets on reddit and HN for a long time. I've researched after-market bidets that would be suitable for my bathroom. I've bookmarked a few that seem suitable and have good reviews. But there is one thing which stops me. I'm not sure of the exact details. Even in this thread, I don't know the brass tacks of using one. Do I turn on the sprayer and that is that? Or do I mechanical…

The one I have attaches under the seat, and sends a little jet of water up at what I imagine is about a 45 degree angle. It would make the opposite wall wet (with clean water) if I ever turned it on not sitting on it, which I haven’t.

Mine isn’t fancy, it doesn’t use power, just water pressure. The only setting is for front (for people without a penis) or for back (for everyone with an anus), and a knob for pressure.

You poop, and when you’re done, without getting up, you turn it on, and the jet of water shoots upward and hits you in the butt. It’s within an inch or two of the hole, and you can easily feel where it’s hitting you. A little wiggle/adjustment of your body on the seat to get it aligned (oh, you’ll know) and then you wait about 2-4 seconds. A little leaning of your body in the forward/backward axis (an inch or two, maybe) to sweep the crack, then you’re clean and you turn it off. Usually a second flush (if you’re the courtesy flush type like me) and the whole event is like it never happened.

Your hands are never involved, except to turn the knob on and off.

I don’t end up wet enough that I need TP at all—haven’t bought it in a year or more. It works more on pressure than water volume, sort of like the sprayer on a sink to rinse out a glass. Pretty much only the crack gets wet, it is more of a single focused jet than a spray. Some people like to use TP to dry afterwards, but there isn’t much water on you once you turn it off. It’s focused and it doesn’t really spray your cheeks or anything.

Mine was under $50 on Amazon. I buy one for every place I live in now, and couldn’t imagine going back. It’s night and day.

There are other kinds which are more of a sink sprayer kind where you hold the sprayer and have to do some aiming and whatnot; I have little experience with those. Mine is the squirting type that installs between the toilet seat the the ceramic bowl (“lux neo 120”).

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