Toilet Paper: More Than Just Something To Wipe With

October 21, 2008 8:00 PM

This post is all about toilet paper, such as its history, toilet paper art, toilet paper facts, and toilet paper commercials. There's even links to toilet paper museums, detailed facts and scans of toilet paper from Germany and alternatives to toilet paper (both physical and virtual), which is great since finding ways to reduce your toilet paper consumption might just help save the planet or, at the very least, solve The Toilet Paper Problem.
posted by Effigy2000 (15 comments total)

There are going to be lots of abstract toilet paper art installations across American neighborhoods in about ten days.
posted by clearly at 8:09 PM on October 21, 2008

Eskimos used handfuls of snow??? (From the first link)

Wow.

There simply has to be a great joke here, but it eludes me. I'll just be flabbergasted quietly.
posted by John Smallberries at 8:24 PM on October 21, 2008

Handfuls of snow are plentiful in some areas, cheap and extraordinarily refreshing. I highly recommend it.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:38 PM on October 21, 2008

The best squat toilet converter I've seen online, the Lillipad.
posted by nickyskye at 8:41 PM on October 21, 2008

Eskimos used handfuls of snow???

yeowch.

Cat using toilet & toilet paper

Here is Chuck Norris toilet paper
posted by nickyskye at 8:52 PM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure it would be impossible to reduce my toilet paper consumption.
posted by longsleeves at 8:52 PM on October 21, 2008

From the 2nd link:

"The pentagon uses, on average, about 666 rolls of toilet paper every day."
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 8:53 PM on October 21, 2008

Note to self: never eat brown snow.
posted by unSane at 9:01 PM on October 21, 2008

[W]hen it comes to the population of Great Britain being invited by a multi-national to wipe their bottoms on what appears to be the work of a Knight of the Realm without his permission, then a last stand must be made."
posted by zippy at 9:21 PM on October 21, 2008

From your museums link, toilet paper samples from a trip in 1959 and autographs collected on toilet paper.
posted by nickyskye at 9:26 PM on October 21, 2008

A trip to Thailand turned me on to "the hose". This is a sprayer hose that is clipped on to the side of the toilet to wash one's self after The Act. I installed one at my house and watched my TP consumption drop by A Lot.
posted by telstar at 2:55 AM on October 22, 2008

The use of the word "Eskimo" makes me question the quality of the source. (First link.) That's an insulting term. The peoples of the Canadian north are the Dene, the Inuit, and the Innu. "Eskimo" usually refers to the Inuit, and it means "raw meat eaters" in Algonquian. I'm not sure why people still use this term.

Back to the toilet paper talk.
posted by Hildegarde at 4:19 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

This was bizarrely fascinating :)
Hildegarde -- the first link looks like a college paper to me. From the page: "Speaking of which, just where are those tuition dollars of ours going? For the expense of one class, you would think that UST administration could work something out to provide a little more comfort than that of the paper found in our notebooks we take notes on during class." I guess that would explain the use of the word Eskimo.

The bibliography is a bit shaky, but it does lead to a great time waster site:
Useless Information: stuff you never needed to know about but your life would be incomplete without. The site is rather goofy but does provide references to books and sites for more info for some crazy stuff!
posted by Librarygeek at 9:44 AM on October 22, 2008

George Costanza approves.
posted by jockc at 9:56 AM on October 22, 2008

The Bathroom Survey.
posted by nickyskye at 6:54 AM on October 23, 2008