Joseph C. Gayetty of New York City invented toilet paper in 1857.
Cecil replies:
You should thank your lucky stars you live in the twentieth century, bucko. Let me tell you about ... corncobs. You may not believe this, but it was once common practice in rural America to leave a corncob hanging from a string in the outhouse for purposes of personal hygiene. The string, I gather, was to permit the cob to be reused. For those who were punctilious in these matters, or else blessed with an abundance of corncobs, a box of disposable cobs might be provided instead. In coastal regions, the cob might be replaced by a mussel shell.
For those who had access to it, paper from discarded books or newspapers was often preferred to either of the foregoing. The meteoric growth of the Sears Roebuck company, for instance, is thought to be partly attributable to the protean nature of its catalogs, which, historians tells us, might serve a family of regular habits for an entire season. As with the cob, the catalog would be hung in the outhouse on a string and pages torn off as needed. It is said the use of coated stock, which was nonabsorbent, was a source of great consternation to farm families when Sears began printing color pictures in the catalog earlier in this century.
English lords, in attempting to teach their sons to be cultivated gentlemen, often advised purchasing an inexpensive volume of verse for use in the loo. The idea, of course, was that while you were sitting there in a contemplative state you would be able to read a few stanzas, subsequent to which the paper could be put to other ends, so to speak. It has not escaped my notice that my magnum opus, The Straight Dope: A Compendium of Human Knowledge, is also well suited for this purpose. Indeed, in the next edition we are thinking about perforating the pages, for maximum convenience.
For more data on this fascinating topic, see An Irreverent and Almost Complete Social History of the Bathroom (1983), by Frank Muir.
Does putting a "?" at the end of a statement make it a question?
Of course it does? Don't be silly?
What is a silly goose, anyway?
why's it called a gooseegg? why does that look like i spelled it wrong? why not an ostrich egg?
Why the hell do they hide chicken eggs on Easter?
why is the alphabet in that order? is it cuz of that song?
Why do they call it 'alphabet soup' ???
I've NEVER
found all the letters in there.
What's the traditional way?
What does it mean? ;)
Let's call it... "Nut To Butt".
Won't someone please think of the children and close this door?
::slam!::
hey. i didn't open it. why should i care about the children and close it?
Could you please answer the question in the form of a question?
:-)
What was the question?
Where's Waldo? Why do I want to ask that question everytime I see that name on the Who's here list?
could you please explain why you're talking about something that was edited to rectify the problem before you posted your question?
Was it rectified when I saw it?
Where's Jake?
which question were you answering with that question kids?
Do I need to answer a question with that question?
are animal crackers made from real animals?
for that matter are girl scout cookies made from real girl scouts?
Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
why isn't there butt flavored dog food? and why is it the only time a dog licks it's butt is when you have company?
When dog food is advertised as "Improved Taste," who tested it?
do they add milk to the dog food and eat it like cereal?
why does toilet paper come in little squares when you're gonna rip a wad off anyway?
why do they call the squares within the squares pillows? do they sleep on them to make sure the're soft and soak up drool?
why does wiping up drool with toilet paper sound like a personal problem?
who invented toilet paper?
who is someone that wiped one too many times with poison ivy?
Joseph C. Gayetty of New York City invented toilet paper in 1857.
Cecil replies:
You should thank your lucky stars you live in the twentieth century, bucko. Let me tell you about ... corncobs. You may not believe this, but it was once common practice in rural America to leave a corncob hanging from a string in the outhouse for purposes of personal hygiene. The string, I gather, was to permit the cob to be reused. For those who were punctilious in these matters, or else blessed with an abundance of corncobs, a box of disposable cobs might be provided instead. In coastal regions, the cob might be replaced by a mussel shell.
For those who had access to it, paper from discarded books or newspapers was often preferred to either of the foregoing. The meteoric growth of the Sears Roebuck company, for instance, is thought to be partly attributable to the protean nature of its catalogs, which, historians tells us, might serve a family of regular habits for an entire season. As with the cob, the catalog would be hung in the outhouse on a string and pages torn off as needed. It is said the use of coated stock, which was nonabsorbent, was a source of great consternation to farm families when Sears began printing color pictures in the catalog earlier in this century.
English lords, in attempting to teach their sons to be cultivated gentlemen, often advised purchasing an inexpensive volume of verse for use in the loo. The idea, of course, was that while you were sitting there in a contemplative state you would be able to read a few stanzas, subsequent to which the paper could be put to other ends, so to speak. It has not escaped my notice that my magnum opus, The Straight Dope: A Compendium of Human Knowledge, is also well suited for this purpose. Indeed, in the next edition we are thinking about perforating the pages, for maximum convenience.
For more data on this fascinating topic, see An Irreverent and Almost Complete Social History of the Bathroom (1983), by Frank Muir.
Anyway, who gives a shit?
why is it called taking a shit when you're really leaving it?
Why do you have to go to "Start" to stop Windows?
Why are they called windows when you can't see through them? Shouldn't they be called something more appropriate like "wall hangings"?
How about "curtains?"
Seems appropriate.
Ooops -- does it seem appropriate?
Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?
what's going on here? the neighbors said they heard a lady screaming.
Why do they call them "apartments" when they're all stuck together?
Why do they call them buildings when they are already built? Shouldn't they be called builts?
Why do they call page numbers "folios" and lines "rules"? Doesn't folio make you think of portfolio, or tin foil? And who sets the rules anyway?
Women wearing kilts...is that cross-dressing?
Why are you wondering?
Why ask why?
why not?
Who knows?
can we get a real debate here? ya know, in the spirit of the thread.
What would you care to discuss?
Do people adopt and preach extreme religious views as an attempt to make themselves feel superior to others and cover up for a lack of self-esteem?
How's that Ares?