Before we had toilet paper, Americans used corn husks. Have you ever wondered what people used for personal hygiene before the invention of toilet paper? Historically, humans have used a variety of things for wiping — from corn cobs to rocks.
Anyone who’s been camping will tell you that a handful of dry leaves sure comes in handy when there isn’t any toilet paper around.
But you may be surprised to learn that before the mass production of toilet paper, the choices for “cleaning up” were far more varied than you might imagine. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the crazy things people used before toilet paper existed. You’ll be amazed!
The Early Days of Toilet Paper
Toilet paper was invented in China. The earliest historical accounts of using wads of tissue paper to clean up after… well, afterward, are found in the 6th century. The first toilet paper was manufactured on a large scale for that particular use, occurring in what is today Zhejiang province in the 14th century.
Modern toilet paper wasn’t commonly available in the United States until the mid-19th century. Before it was manufactured in the ubiquitous 4 ½” rolls we all know and love, toilet paper came in bundles of flat sheets, roughly the size of the box of today’s facial tissues (which are larger sheets, folded).
The father of American toilet tissue is said to be J.C. Gayetty, and his “Gayetty’s Medicated Paper for the Water-Closet” was available from the Civil War era, well into the 1920s.
What people made use of before the invention of Toilet Paper
Ancient Romans
have long been famous for their bathhouses, toilets, and extensive sewer systems. Most historians assumed that these inventions were a boon for public health. But new evidence shows that this wasn’t the case. The people of Rome suffered from many parasitic infections because of, not despite, the supposedly advanced sewer system.
One possible reason is the humid conditions of bathhouses and public toilets, as well as a lack of knowledge about how disease spreads.
Lacking hygienic toilet paper, the Ancient Romans used a sponge attached to a stick, known as an XYLOSPONGIUM (totally not a made-up word). In public toilets, the sponge was used by all and stored in a bucket of vinegar between uses.
This sponge (which BTW looks awfully like a modern toilet brush) likely caused disease outbreaks and infections for the citizens of Rome.
Not content with sharing a communal sponge when it was time to do their business, wealthy Romans instead used wool soaked in rose water. However, it seems they still thought it perfectly acceptable to reuse it. And over in France, royal families were fond of silk and lace (talk about wasteful!).
Scandinavia
In northern countries such as Scandinavia, moss and snow were wiping favorites, while in tropical regions like Hawaii, a coconut shell did the trick.
United States
And in the rural farmlands of the United States, farmers, and their families preferred one option above all — a corncob. Yep, a dried corncob, stripped of its kernels, was used widely throughout the 19th century. Even after toilet paper was invented in the mid-1800s, folks in rural areas still preferred the cob for its softness, convenience, and economy.
Japan
In Japan in the eighth century A.D., people used another type of wooden stick called a chuugi to clean both the outside and inside of the anus — literally putting a stick up their buttocks.
And though sticks have been popular for cleaning the anus throughout history, ancient people wiped with many other materials, such as water, leaves, grass, stones, animal furs, and seashells. In the Middle Ages, Morrison added, people also used moss, sedge, hay, straw, and pieces of tapestry.
France
People used so many materials that a French novelist, François Rabelais, wrote a satirical poem on the topic in the 16th century. His poem gave the first mention of toilet paper in the Western world, but he called it ineffective. Rabelais instead concluded that a goose neck was the best option.
Though Rabelais was joking, “feathers would work as well as anything organic,” Morrison said.
Even today toilet paper isn’t universal. For instance, the Australian news outlet SBS Punjabi lightheartedly mocked Westerns desperate for toilet paper early in the pandemic, urging them to “wash not wipe” with a gentle jet stream of water.
Conclusion
Today, we may take for granted the convenience of modern toilet paper, but it’s fascinating to reflect on the ingenuity and resourcefulness of our ancestors. These unconventional methods, though sometimes uncomfortable and unhygienic, highlight the human need for cleanliness and personal hygiene.
As we appreciate the luxury of soft tissue paper, let’s remember to be grateful for the advancements in sanitation that have made our lives more comfortable. It’s remarkable how far we’ve come!
