Two-layer, three-layer, with the scent of strawberries, plain or with a multi-colored pattern, with a washable sleeve and without a sleeve - toilet paper has become an indispensable subject of personal hygiene.
Gone are the days when stones, pieces of clay or leaves were used instead of paper. Yes, yes, imagine stones and clay! Let's plunge into the secrets of the past and find out what people of the past used instead of toilet paper.
Ancient Rome
The ancient Romans came up with a rather original way: at the end of a long stick they tied a sea sponge. The Terzorium (the so-called stick) stood in a public restroom in a bucket of concentrated salt water or vinegar. Having done “great deeds”, the Roman wiped himself with a sponge and immediately washed it for the next visitor. Later, this method was abandoned, since infectious diseases began to spread. Wealthy Romans used either personal torzorium or soft pieces of wool.
An interesting fact: public toilets in ancient Rome were built without partitions. Imagine, both women and men could sit on neighboring "toilets".
Ancient Greece
Surprisingly, the ancient Greeks, who gave us culture, after the toilet used pieces of clay, smooth and flat stones.
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East
In ancient India and the Middle East they used their left hand, which they then washed in a bucket of water. There was a custom not to serve food with your left hand and not to shake it at a meeting - this was considered a serious insult, since she had been in … a bucket. Who would have thought that in the 21st century the tradition will be preserved - this is not a joke. Arabs still consider the custom to use paper dirty and unhygienic.
America
The indigenous people and the first settlers of America had a violent fantasy: of all that is in nature, they chose corncobs. What explains such a strange choice is not clear. In modern America, newspapers and magazines have been used for a long time, which are specially printed on cheap and thin gray paper.
Tropical islands
Residents of the tropics used clam shells or coconut halves. Agree, it's pretty dangerous to wipe your shells?
China
No matter how ridiculous it sounded, the Chinese invented toilet paper in the VI century. It gained particular popularity in the fourteenth century during the rule of the Ming Dynasty. In 1393, the emperor ordered 720, 000 pieces of paper to be cut for the hygienic needs of the royal family. By the way, the size of one sheet was 60 x 90 cm. Later, Emperor Hong Wu orders exclusively for him to make fragrant toilet paper.
Russia
In Russia, paper hygiene inventions became known only in the 16th century after a visit by the Russian ambassador to China. Tsar Alexei the Quiet immediately issued a decree on the release of paper from ordinary canvas. True, only for the royal court. Ordinary people wiped themselves with hay, grass, snow, old rags.
