The History of Toilet Paper.

Essay by in_the_laneCollege, UndergraduateA+, May 2003

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You really have to appreciate the little things in life. You really don't appreciate toilet paper until you don't have it. Then you think about the alternatives. It is certain, that toilet paper has not been on the world since forever. When cave people could not stop in some supermarket, they had to help themselves by that what nature provided them.

Early American settlers used everything from leaves to corncobs to wipe their bottoms. They learned to stay away from Poison Ivy really quick. French royalty wiped with lace. The Vikings used discarded wool. On Hawaiian islands, people used shells from coconuts. In Asia, the Hindus and Muslims used their left hand, which was washed by water from a jug afterwards. The custom of never eating with the left hand evolved from it. Some people say that it is the reason we shake with the right hand instead of the left.

Many people think British plumber Thomas Crapper invented the toilet. But the credit really belongs to Sir John Harington, a godson of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1857, New York entrepreneur Joseph C. Gayetty manufactured the first packaged pre-moistened sheets of bathroom tissue called "therapeutic paper" in packs of 500 for 50 cents. In 1890, Scott Paper introduced toilet paper on a roll. Over the years, a variety of toilet paper has evolved such as 2-ply paper and quilted paper.

Today, the U.S. toilet paper market is worth about $2.4 billion a year. America is the world's leader in toilet paper. Consider this: The average American uses 57 sheets of toilet paper a day and more than 20,805 sheets a year. America is the biggest producer, and biggest consumer in the world. While foreigners might laugh at our cars and shoddy consumer goods, most of the world agrees we're...