Although modern-day toilet paper was invented in the United States in 1857, the introduction of toilet paper to Australia came decades later and coincided with the building of city sewers. Adelaide had a drainage system by 1885, while Sydney's was only partially complete by 1876.
Toilet Paper Enters the Market
In 1890, two American brothers introduced the very useful toilet paper roll. The rise of indoor plumbing helped the popularity of toilet paper soar. Since leaves, moss, and catalogue paper could clog the pipes, everyone turned to flushable toilet paper.
By the Victorian era, you could purchase specially manufactured toilet paper, often with wire at the corner, or in a box so that one sheet could be pulled out at a time.
Before that, they used whatever was handy -- sticks, leaves, corn cobs, bits of cloth, their hands.
Paper became widely available in the 15th century, but in the Western world, modern commercially available toilet paper didn't originate until 1857, when Joseph Gayetty of New York marketed a "Medicated Paper, for the Water-Closet,” sold in packages of 500 sheets for 50 cents.
We're going to start with the Stone Age (about a million years ago for all you Gen Z's reading). Butt wiping in the Stone Age started off on a rocky road (pardon the pun) as yes you may have guessed it, for thousands of years stones were the go-to wiping method.
Toilet Paper As We Know It
Gayetty's paper never became popular; however, in the 1870s, brothers Irvin and Clarence Scott started the Scott Paper Company. In 1890, the Scott Paper Company started selling “bathroom tissue” on a roll to private dealers.
The xylospongium or tersorium, also known as a "sponge on a stick", was a hygienic utensil used by ancient Romans to wipe their anus after defecating, consisting of a wooden stick (Greek: ξύλον, xylon) with a sea sponge (Greek: σπόγγος, spongos) fixed at one end.
France, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Venezuela, and Spain: Instead of toilet paper, people from these countries (most of them from Europe) usually have a bidet in their washrooms. A bidet like a toilet, but also includes a spout that streams water like a water fountain to rinse you clean.
If you relieved yourself in a public latrine in ancient Rome, you may have used a tersorium to wipe. These ancient devices consisted of a stick with a vinegar- or salt water-soaked sponge attached.
She rarely washed her hair, as the process was involved and not terribly pleasant. Women were advised to dilute pure ammonia in warm water and then massage it through the scalp and hair, like modern shampoo.
Victorian Oral Hygiene & Dental Decay
Most people cleaned their teeth using water with twigs or rough cloths as toothbrushes. Some splurged on a “tooth-powder” if they could afford it. Sugar became more widely distributed, thus contributing to an increase in tooth decay during this time period.
Though even wealthy families did not take a full bath daily, they were not unclean. It was the custom for most people to wash themselves in the morning, usually a sponge bath with a large washbasin and a pitcher of water on their bedroom washstands. Women might have added perfume to the water.
It is said that pink was the regional preference at the time; how they came to this conclusion, is a mystery! It is thought that this colour was selected to compliment the bathroom décor – pink bathroom anyone? Of course, white toilet paper is available in France (it's also cheaper), it's just much less common.
Many Asian toilets don't use paper at all, they may have a hose as a bidet, or water pale, using their hands to clean, actually, you may find the Chinese are much closer to western style than other Asian cultures.
FYI, toilet paper is preferred across Europe, USA and many East Asian countries. Most countries in Southeast Asia, as well as parts of Southern Europe, favour the use of water.
Public toilets often do not equip each toilet stall with toilet paper in Russia. Sometimes toilet paper is available outside the stalls. Sometimes there is none to be had. You can purchase small, travel-sized rolls from hygiene-product travel sections in supermarkets or convenience stores.
While Americans in particular are used to flushing their used toilet paper down the pipe, they must break that habit if they are traveling to Turkey, Greece, Beijing, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Bulgaria, Egypt and the Ukraine in particular. Restrooms will have special waste bins to place used toilet paper.
Therefore, the shelf toilets were designed to use much less water than their American counterparts - hence the shelf. If you are sick, you can look at your prized matter before flushing it or even take a stool sample for your doctor. Not that you will need this often, but it is an advantage, even though a strange one.
This is odd, given that human beings have been using what amounts to unisex facilities since the first humans walked upright. Public baths and toilets, many “gender neutral," were the norm in ancient Rome.
Swaddles as nappies
Back in the day, in Roman times, a gent named Soranus (not even kidding) suggested that babies be swaddled in soft cloth. The cloth would soak up the pee and poop and presumably be changed fairly often.
1. Mullein aka “cowboy toilet paper” Even hard men want a soft leaf. If the cowboys used the large velvety leaves of the mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant while out on the range, then you can too!
In WW2, British soldiers had to make do with a daily ration of 3 sheets of toilet paper. Americans got 22.5.
Thimbleberry Leaves: These leaves were soft and absorbent, making them a good choice for toilet paper. Newspaper: When they were in town, cowboys sometimes used old newspapers as toilet paper. It wasn't the most comfortable option, but it got the job done.