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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?

#401

Post by tikkabhuna »

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 :-)).

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 afterwards. I can't imagine being in a suit in cold UK winter and using one.

Looking forward to trying a Japanese toilet with those sprays...

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#402

Post by dotancohen »

4ad wrote: post #358
travmatt wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I asked a plumber about those once and he laughed and said there’s no such thing as a flushable wipe - but they’re great for business.

What's the limitation? Why can't we make actually flushable wipes?

Shear stress. You want something that won't tear when it is pulled against your skin, but with enough friction to remove viscoplastic residue.

The way to make a cloth that supports such high shear stress without tearing is to use a very long fiber. This precludes the fiber from dissolving in water. Some experimental materials actually dissolve not in water but in alkalines such as fats that are found in most sewer systems. But not all sewer systems have the proper conditions so these materials then do not dissolve.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#403

Post by pbhjpbhj »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #379
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).

> (squat..? How?) This is a thing for westerners; the squat position (with feet flat on the floor) is really hard to do for a lot of them, iirc mostly having to do with ankle flexibility (for me personally anyway). In countries with squat toilets the people are a lot more used to the position / motion. I guess most people could get by with doing a toe squat, but that's harder to keep balance.

Yes, ankles, after 18 months learning Shotokan karate I can almost do a squat now, kids can do it with ease. I think with a toe squat you can't relax as much, which makes it difficult to open your sphincter.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#404

Post by hsrada »

darklajid wrote: post #367
pzs wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

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'..

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#405

Post by pbhjpbhj »

skookumchuck wrote: post #113
hippich wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You will laugh, but yes, USSR also had troubles with toilet paper from time to time (while launching satellites i guess) - https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&pr...

Free markets are self-organizing, and are constantly adapting, evolving, and innovating. Centralized planning (socialism) cannot hope to match it.

Free markets also have no concept of human suffering; they centralise power with the most ruthless and exploitative, and so preference those human traits.

Equating centralised planning with socialism is wrong though. You can have the latter without the former.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#406

Post by pbhjpbhj »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #322
scribu wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A sewer pipe that could detect what’s passing through it would actually have all kinds of practical uses! I wonder how feasible it would be to embed chemical sensors into such an environment.

Governments sometimes analyse waste water for drugs and drug metabolites. You can't pinpoint specific houses' drug use, but you get get trends and general population data.

Targeting action on drugs by monitoring sewerage plants is some sort of genius.

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#407

Post by wazoox »

mi3law wrote: post #396
wazoox wrote: post #386

François Rabelais did a thorough explanation on the best ways to wipe back in hist late 15th century books (don't remember which one exactly, sorry). After discussing the virtues of various sorts of leaves, hay, moss, he concludes that the best wiping material is a small, soft bird. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed your comment so I did some Googling around, and found this gem straight from the man himself: |'I have, answered Gargantua, by a long and curious experience, found out a means to wipe my bum, the most lordly, the most excellent, and the most convenient that ever was seen… I say and maintain, that of all torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders, tail-napkins, bunghole cleansers, and wipe-breeches, there…

I've found the original text which uses "oison", actually the gosling, so we're both right :) . Many of the words in this text were, as usual with Rabelais, written in French for the very first time. The whole text is incredibly satiating, reading it aloud naturally fills both the mouth and the belly with this incredibly coarse tongue, and provokes roaring laughter.

http://mapage.noos.fr/crosin000v/Rabelais/Extraits_fr_Rabela...

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#408

Post by Double_a_92 »

hellofunk wrote: post #392
Double_a_92 wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you dry afterwards? At home you could use some towel, I guess... But in a public place?

They don't.

Isn't that awkward? Your underwear will get wet, and also your skin is moist... and warm. Which is a good place for bacteria to grow?

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#409

Post by pbhjpbhj »

jessriedel wrote: post #196
lainga wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the 6th post I have seen this week along the formula (1) I am from Europe and I went to America. (2) Americans do things in a way I find unusual and/or distressing. (3) The cause must be a character flaw shared by all Americans (security and puritanical reasons...?).

bambax's comment is particularly silly too: "It seems, Americans don't trust one another to sit alone in a toilet". One could just as easily remark that "It seems Europeans must be so childishly shy about normal bodily functions that they must build walls from floor to ceiling in order to pretend that they don't happen". But obviously, both versions are stupid.

Both may be stupid, but perhaps also true of a large enough portion of the population as to provide the reason for those differences?

Re: What Did Ancient Romans Do Without Toilet Paper?

#410

Post by Illotus »

krageon wrote: post #377
4ad wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like those stupid hand air driers at public facilities. God, how I hate those. Americans have it easy, in general paper towels are available even when the damn air thing is installed. But here in Europe, most often you only get the stupid air machine with no paper towels.

The high end ones take maybe 20s to dry your hands off. Properly drying your hands with paper towels takes at least as long and it wastes paper. What is your problem with an air dryer?

Paper towels are much more sanitary. Big part of washing hands is wiping the bacteria and viruses along with water into something. Drying just gets the water, leaves everything else.
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