The History of Butt Wiping: What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper? (2024)

The History of Butt Wiping: What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper? (1)

For nearly all of history, humans from all periods of timehave wiped using the “closest smooth-ish object” method (i.e., identify the closest object that is relatively smooth and wipe).The Romans, Victorians, and even cowboys have had their fair share of using obscure tools to wipe. It was not until the recent introduction of toilet paper in the United States that we witnessed the widespread adoption of a product manufacturedspecificallyfor wiping the backside.

You will now embark upon a brief journey through some of the more popular (and fascinating) wiping methods over the centuries. On your journey, take some time to reflect on some of the deeper, unanswered questions in the Butt Wiping Cosmos:Where did rear end hygiene come from? And why has hygiene related to the least clean part of our bodies been so slow to develop?

Ancient Greece Hygiene

Ancient Greeks often used stones ("pessoi") or fragments of ceramic ("ostraka") to wipe.

The History of Butt Wiping: What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper? (2)

Pessoi as wiping objects are found in Ancient Greek art, writings, and even proverbs. For example, an ancient Greek wine cup depicts a squatting man mid-wipe with a cane in one hand and a pessoi in the other.

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As another example, the Ancient Greeks recited a proverb to emphasize being frugal, which roughly translates to “three stones are enough to wipe one’s arse.”

Some ceramic fragments used to wipe were inscribed with an individual’s names, which some believe indicates that Greeks were, quite literally,soiling the name ofsomeonetheydid not like. This would be akin to our toilet paper printed with your favorite enemy’s face.

By modern standards, pessoi and ostraka would not be considered very hygienic, especially if you were frugally using only three. Some suggest that rough textures and sharp edges could have led to irritation and hemorrhoids. However, pessoi and ostraka represent an early widespread adoption of a single “accepted” wiping method – a collective agreement that particular objects were a good way to wipe, which can be considered an improvement from the “closest smooth-ish object” method.

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome employed one of the most interesting wiping methods on our tour, what we at Pristine consider to be a low point in the history of human hygiene: the communal sponge-on-a-stick.

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Public restrooms were often used to take care of business in large Roman cities. Ancient Roman “graffiti” has been found carved in the walls of public restrooms and reminds us that, though separated by thousands of years, humans are human. There were no toilet dividers, so it was not uncommon to see your neighbor during your daily movement. (hereis ashort video with some riveting information and visuals.)

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You will notice that the Roman toilet opening extended downward in a keyhole shape, which allowed for insertion of the famed sponge-on-a-stick for wiping. Wealthy Romans could afford a personal sponge-on-a-stick, but many used (and re-used . . . and used again) the same communal sponge-on-a-stick. To “sanitize” the sponge after use, it was dunked into vinegar or salt water.

While, from a hygiene perspective, the communal sponge-on-a-stickmay be a low point, the Ancient Romans are well known for improving toilet and plumbing technology in a way that would influence future civilizations for centuries.

Did Ancient Asia Invent Toilet Paper?

Ancient Asian cultures were known to use wooden sticks to wipe (also known as "poop sticks"). Wikipedia has an extensive listing on these “poopsticks,” which are known by many different names, includingśalākā,cèchóu, andchūgi. Thesepoopsticks have been uncovered in latrines along the Silk Road and have provided archaeologists with insight into ancient diet . . . and also ancient parasites. (You can learn more about the discovery ofpoop sticks on the Silk Road in this Smithsonian article.) The wooden sticks were thought to be inexpensive, washable, and reusable.

China is widely believed to have invented toilet paper. The first known historical reference to toilet paper was by Yan Zhituiwho wrote in the 6th Century: “Paper on which there are quotations or commentaries from the Five Classicsor the names of sages, I dare not use for toiletpurposes.” Toilet paper was not known to be widely manufactured until the 14th Century in China and not until the 20th Century in the United States.

Early American

Stones, sponges-on-a-stick, and wooden sticks are all unique ancient wiping methods. However, throughout time, if a person did not have one of these wiping methods available, they would often resort to the tried and true “closest smooth-ish object” wiping method. The “closest smooth-ish object” wiping method was an early American favorite.

Early Americans used brick-lined “privy pits” as restrooms.This pictureshows two privy pits at a tavern around the time of the Declaration of Independence. Not unlike modern bars, archaeologists uncovered much more than human waste from these early toilets, including drinking glasses, punch bowls, smoking pipes, liquor bottles, and even an entire window.

One of the more popular early American wiping objects was the dried corn cob.

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A variety of other objects were also used, including leaves, handfuls of straw, and seashells.

As paper became more prominent and expendable, early Americans began using newspapers, catalogs, and magazines to wipe. Early readers of the Farmers’ Almanac began to nail a hole into the corner of the Almanac to hang on outhouse walls for the dual purpose of reading and wiping. In 1919, the Farmers’ Almanac began pre-drilling the legendary “hole,” and this vestige of early wiping habits can still be found drilled into the upper left-hand corner of the Farmers’ Almanac today.

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Toilet Paper Patent

Patents related to toilet paper started to appear in the late 1800’s. Advocates of the "loose-end over" method point to the toilet paper patent about the "correct" way to put on a roll of toilet paper.

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However, it was not until the early 1900’s that toilet paper began to be manufactured on a large scale in the form that we know it today.

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It was presumably a challenging sell for early toilet paper titans – why would the public pay money for toilet paper when they had free newspapers, corn cobs, and straw out back? Marketing campaigns for toilet paper in the 1930’s boasted that toilet paper was “splinter free,” leaving us to infer that some earlier toilet paper in fact provided customers with free splinters.

When Did Toilet Paper Become Popular

Toilet paper dominated American bathroom hygiene during the 1900’s, even though wet wipes (originally known as “wet naps”) were invented in the 1950’s.

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Wet wipes were not originally used for wiping the backside. The original Wet Nap products were first sold to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to wipe dirty hands.

It was not until the 1990’s that wet wipes became popular to wipe baby bottoms.

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And, it was not until the last decade that wet wipes became popular among adults.

The Golden Age of Butt Wiping

This leads us to one shocking realization. Since the time that we wiped our hindquarters with corncobs and magazines, there have beenjust twomajor wiping innovations – toilet paper and wet wipes – the most “recent” originating 60 years ago.

To emphasize by comparison, in a world where companies launch a new cell phone at least once a year, there have been no major butt-wiping innovationsin over half a century.

We may never answer the deeper questions of the Butt Wiping Cosmos. Perhaps rear end hygiene is stifled by the “out of sight, out of mind” anatomical positioning of our rears. Or maybe improved rear end hygiene is silenced by the stigma of bathroom talk.

Whatever the case, Pristine is here to offer you the third major bathroom hygiene innovation in the last century - toilet paper spray!

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We are excited to announce that Pristine has now arrived to Amazon in the United Kingdom and Canada!Shop Amazon United Kingdom and Amazon Canada for free and fast shipping directly from within the countries.

The History of Butt Wiping: What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper? (2024)

FAQs

The History of Butt Wiping: What Did People Use Before Toilet Paper? ›

Nature makes great toilet paper

What did Native Americans use instead of toilet paper? ›

Corn cobs. Dried corn cobs were plentiful in rural agrarian societies throughout history. From colonial Americans to ancient Mayans — the corncob worked by turning on its axis to clean the region (you get the picture). According to our official internet sources, some outhouses in western US states still use this method ...

What did the Vikings use instead of toilet paper? ›

But one unlikely but important material was moss, gathered and used as insulation between walls and as an early version of 'toilet paper'. Sphagnum moss is very absorbent and is actually anti-bacterial; it was used by both the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.

What did the Romans wipe their bums with? ›

The Romans cleaned their behinds with sea sponges attached to a stick, and the gutter supplied clean flowing water to dip the sponges in. This soft, gentle tool was called a tersorium, which literally meant “a wiping thing.”

How did Elizabethans wipe their bottoms? ›

Wiping in the Medieval Times

Humans have been wiping their butts for ions. Before toilet paper was even a concept, people just used whatever was available to wipe. This included items such as hay, wood shavings, corn cobs, and even iron cables.

What do amish use instead of toilet paper? ›

Lizzie explained Amish people would rip newspaper into “l*ttle squares” to clean themselves. As a matter of fact, for many people in the world, toilet paper truly is a luxury.

What did Native Americans use to wipe? ›

Early American

Stones, sponges-on-a-stick, and wooden sticks are all unique ancient wiping methods.

What did cowboys use instead of toilet paper? ›

Mullein aka “cowboy toilet paper”

If the cowboys used the large velvety leaves of the mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant while out on the range, then you can too! Mullein is a biennial plant available for use in almost every bioregion.

What did poor Romans use instead of toilet paper? ›

A sponge on a stick

If you went to the toilet in ancient Rome, you would not have any toilet paper. Instead you may have used a sponge (Latin: tersorium) to wipe. These ancient devices consisted of a stick with a vinegar- or salt water-soaked sponge attached. They were often shared!

What did Eskimos use for toilet paper? ›

They were hardy people. The Eskimos used two of the better toilet paper substitutes: snow in the winter and tundra moss when it was available.

What did Jesus wipe with? ›

Bible Gateway John 12 :: NIV. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair.

When did humans start wiping their own bottom? ›

We're going to start with the Stone Age (about a million years ago for all you Gen Z's reading). Butt wiping in the Stone Age started off on a rocky road (pardon the pun) as yes you may have guessed it, for thousands of years stones were the go-to wiping method.

How did medieval people wipe after pooping? ›

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.

What did indigenous people use for toilet paper? ›

Nature makes great toilet paper

Once we developed agriculture, we had options like hay and corn husks. People who lived on islands or on the coast used shells and a scraping technique. And people indigenous to cold areas used snow, which sounds oddly refreshing…

What did Native Americans use for toilets? ›

American Indians generally did their “business” in the most convenient place not far from their tipis. Indians dug latrines away from the tipis and fresh water. During the most brutal weather, these latrines would be placed close by. Human waste froze in the winter and didn't smell nearly as much as in the summer.

What did people use to wipe in the 1800s? ›

Before the availability of mass produced toilet paper in the mid-1800s, humans had to resort to using what was free and available, even if it didn't provide the most effective (or comfortable) results. Options included rocks, leaves, grass, moss, animal fur, corn cobs, coconut husks, sticks, sand, and sea shells.

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