Toilet paper was touted in 1857 as ‘The greatest necessity of the age!’ Looking at the empty grocery store shelves in times of the Coronavirus pandemic it’s probably true.
History
Without going into the dirty details, the first documented use of toilet paper dates back to China in the 6th century AD. A scholar wrote about the use of toilet paper. He stated he dare not use paper on which quotations from the Confucianism books were written for toilet purposes.
It was recorded that in the 14th century 10 million packages of 1,000 to 10,000 sheets were manufactured annually in China. For the Emperor’s imperial family alone, special soft-fabric toilet paper was made. Each sheet was also perfumed.
Of course, not everyone had access to paper for their personal hygiene. Depending on their wealth, wool, lace or hemp was used. The less lucky were left to clean themselves with pretty much anything they could get their hands on. That might be leaves, grass, hay, stones, moss or snow. The list goes on and on.
In the 18th century newspapers and cheap editions of popular books were used. In a letter Lord Chesterfield wrote to his son he told him he had bought a common edition of Horace. He would tear out a couple of pages and before using them, read them.
Joseph Gayetty is credited with the invention of modern, commercially produced toilet paper in the States in 1857. I guess things didn’t move as quickly back then as they do today. It seems hard to believe that modern toilet paper is ‘only’ 163 years old, but it’s true. Gayetty sold his medicated paper sheets in boxes. Scott Paper Company began marketing it in rolls in 1890. Believe it or not, it wasn’t always made in the quality we expect today. It slowly evolved into the product we know. Just to make my point, in 1930 one company’s big selling point was to advertise their product as ‘splinter free’. Ouch.
Modern Day
A friend of ours in Switzerland bought some extremely comfortable 4-ply paper. After opening the pack they found out that it only had 2-ply. Being somewhat upset, they wrote the company. They actually got an answer, the company apologized, stating that a mistake had occurred. They sent them a couple of packages of 4-ply toilet paper to show their sincerity. Yes, it seems like toilet paper is a very important part of our lives.
Why Stockpile Toilet Paper
In the States, it’s estimated that pro person almost 24 rolls are used per year which really doesn’t sound like a lot. So why go out and overbuy toilet paper? Luckily the Coronavirus has no digestive manifestations, which means you won’t ‘over-poop’. So that can’t be the reason.
Well, it serves a basic need and in our society keeping clean is a must. And, if you happen to be in quarantine with someone I’m sure you would appreciate it if they sported clean assets.
Beyond just keeping you clean, toilet paper takes up a lot of room. So when you buy a couple of packages you feel like you are getting a good deal for your money. And it’s affordable. For a mere $40 you can stockpile enough toilet paper for about six months. Think how much it would cost to stockpile six months worth of pizza, wine, ice-cream or other essential foods.
Sure, it takes up a lot of room, but not in your refrigerator, which is good if it is full at the moment. Also, it has a nonexistent ‘use by’ date. A friend out ours told us of a cartoon he saw. It showed a man taking the last roll of toilet paper out of a cabinet in 2040. He says to his wife, ‘This is the last roll your parents bought 20 years ago.’
Shortage
Still, people are panicking so there’s almost none left in the stores. We are social creatures and are inclined to follow what others do. If they think buying toilet paper is important, then it is. And naturally you don’t want to be the only one using newspaper.
In 1973 Johnny Carson joked in his tonight Show about comments made by a Wisconsin congressman. He said there might be a toilet paper shortage. Needless to say, the Tonight Show was very popular. Many people, just to be on the safe side, subsequently went out and bought toilet paper. And sure enough, there was a shortage for several months. Obviously, you don’t even need a pandemic to create a shortage of this personal hygiene necessity.
But a pandemic can easily lead to shortages, even in Switzerland. Although the politicians are taking great care in trying to calm the public. They have assured us that there are enough rolls for everyone. Interestingly it seems that along with toilet paper, some Swiss, probably the wealthy, are scrambling to buy physical gold. While the toilet paper is for their personal hygiene the latter is probably more for their mental hygiene. Obviously, not everyone feels the pinch of gold being stockpiled. I know I don’t.
There was also a rumor going around that while most of Europe was experiencing a shortage of toilet paper, France had a shortage of condoms. A whole different set of priorities. Very interesting.
As always, stay safe everyone.
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