57 Fun Toilet Paper Facts That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

We don't say it enough, but a single roll of toilet paper can save our lives (or reputation) at times!

A large chunk of people says that they would rather have toilet paper rolls with them on a deserted island instead of food, which surely tells us how important this commodity is. Toilet paper is a relatively new invention and was first used in the sixth century by the royalty of the Chinese Tang Dynasty.

It was only in the 19th century that toilet paper was introduced in America, which now uses it more than any other place in the world. Before this, people used all sorts of things such as corncobs, broken ceramics, and stones to clean themselves. Keep reading to learn more about toilet paper!

History And Origin Of Toilet Paper

Toilet paper has been in use for several years. The average person uses at least 100 toilet paper rolls per year, which is enough to understand the importance of this commodity.

Since this product has been in use for so many years, there are now many varieties of it in circulation, which keep people from getting bored.

There is recycled toilet paper, colored toilet paper, gold toilet paper, and even wet wipes. However, before we dive into what the modern world has made of this essential commodity, let's learn some facts about toilet paper and how it came into being.

The toilet paper market sure is a booming one in the modern-day, which is accentuated by how people ran to supermarkets at the onset of lockdown.

The use of toilet paper started in China in the sixth century, which shows that people had proper concerns about the way that they carried out their business in the bathroom.

While toilet paper or toilet tissue is now a commodity of the masses, it was previously a matter of class.

The first toilet paper was only made for the noble classes.

Understandably, the use of paper to wipe the nether regions was not to be a very affordable thing for the people of the sixth century!

It was not until the 14th century that the Chinese government thought to start mass-producing toilet paper.

How ancient people have used toilet paper is interesting too.

After the Chinese Tang Dynasty started using toilet paper, some people produced what can only be defined as super-sized paper.

This toilet paper measured 2 x 3 ft (0.6 - 0.9 m) in size and was only used by the kings and their kin.

In the 14th century, the Chinese emperor and their family were blessed with the invention of scented toilet paper, to ensure that everything was flowery. Understandably, the royalty would not want to get troubled with any foul smells!

If you open a fancy toilet paper roll today and are greeted with a flowery scent, you may just as well let yourself feel like royalty!

Toilet paper was introduced to America in 1857 by Joseph Gayetty.

He introduced a kind of toilet paper that was enriched with the benefits of aloe.

He also advertised to make people believe that it would prevent hemorrhoids.

This attempt by the New Yorker was not successful, and it was much later that America accepted toilet paper with all their hearts.

Toilet paper was sold in roll form for the first time in 1928, by a person of German origin named Hans Klenk.

Ancient Roman communal toilets did not have the concept of toilet paper, but they did have a variation of it.

Instead of using this disposable paper, they would have a sponge tied to the end of a stick.

Communal toilets of those days had as many as 80 seats for people to occupy and carry out their business in, hence, a single stick would be passed around amongst all of them.

For clear reasons, this was not the greatest idea and Romans had to stop this practice when people started getting sick from the bacterial growth on these sponges.

At the same time, people have also had some of the most extravagant ways of cleaning themselves after a visit to the bathroom.

In France, people have been known to use wool, cotton, and lace.

These fibers would commonly be dipped in rose water to make sure that everything remained fresh and floral.

The earliest toilet paper was made of hemp.

Other things that were commonly used to clean the nether regions were corncobs, sticks, stones, broken ceramics, fruit peels, and moss. Let's just say that not all the ideas were nearly as nice as others!

Dark toilet paper is an interesting concept and is loved by many famous personalities, such as Kris Jenner.

Beyoncé allegedly asked for a specific, ultra-expensive, red-colored toilet paper while on tour!

If you ever feel bored while in the toilet, you can also try buying sudoku paper. This will keep you engaged.

A 'word of the day toilet paper' can make you learn newer words in case you finish the newspaper and still find yourself in the bathroom. Who says you have to waste time on the toilet, right?

National Toilet Paper Day is celebrated on August 26, in the USA.

Process Of Making Toilet Paper

Most of the people that use toilet paper do not realize how much work goes into making it. Every single batch takes a long time to make and even though the time aspect has been reduced considerably through technology, we can hardly deny that making toilet paper is no cakewalk.

Needless to say, almost all kinds of toilet paper are made of pulp, which is derived from trees.

It is one of the many reasons why people have been promoting the use of recycled toilet paper. It might take a few years for this concept to become accepted worldwide, but the effort is what matters as of now.

The process of making virgin pulp toilet paper is different from that of making recycled paper towels or recycled toilet paper.

For the making of virgin pulp toilet paper, the first and inevitable step is the cutting down of trees.

Hundreds, if not thousands of trees are cut down to make every single batch of toilet paper, which means that with the number of large companies that produce this commodity in unimaginably large numbers, it would be impossible for us to retain the forest cover of the world.

These cut-down trees are transported to factories, where they are first de-barked.

Like the name of the process suggests, the bark of the tree is removed in this process, which exposes the inner, slightly softer layers of the tree.

These layers are then cut down into very small chips, which would then be used for the process of pulp making.

The chips are mixed with a concoction of several chemicals that help them to turn into a slurry.

This slurry is then 'cooked' in a large container, which is similar to a pressure cooker.

The cooking process can be time-consuming and can take up to three long hours.

The cooking process is done to remove a large chunk of the moisture in the wood and the concoction as a whole.

Only a small amount of the concoction remains when it comes out of the pressure cooker.

The resultant product is made of cellulose, chemicals, and lignin.

The concoction then goes through a washing process which removes the lignin and other chemicals.

The removed product is dirty colored and is called black liquor.

The resultant product then goes through bleaching.

This is an important step since any of the leftover lignin in the mixture can cause the toilet paper to turn yellow after a while of lying around.

After the bleaching process is done, the mixture is put in paper stock.

This further dries the entire mixture and allows a sheet to form.

At this point, the mixture has only 5% moisture.

Next, the sheets are transferred to a Yankee dryer, which presses them down and makes them a little wrinkled.

This gives the soft, virtually soluble product that we have in our bathrooms.

The sheets are then unwound, slit, and then rewound to form different kinds of toilet paper.

Toilet Paper And Sustainability

The importance of the loo roll industry is clear when we consider how frantic people are at the slightest hint of a toilet paper shortage. Much of the health and hygiene of the world depends on it, we can hardly deny that the modern toilet paper industry is a life-saver.

However, toilet rolls and their use can have a very bad impact on the environment if we do not make conscious choices.

An average human being can cause the cutting down of as many as 384 trees in a lifetime due to their use of toilet paper rolls.

The United States of America leads when it comes to the usage of toilet paper rolls.

During a normal day in the USA, up to 34 million toilet rolls get used.

The pulp of one tree can make only 1500 paper rolls, which essentially means that millions of trees are cut down for paper.

Virgin pulp toilet rolls are more harmful to the environment, toilet roll made from recycled paper is just as effective.

Only around 2% of the toilet paper roll used is 100% recycled.

To break it down, the world should be made aware of the bigger picture so that they can make well-informed choices.

A fake toilet paper shortage was started in 1973, which led to people exhausting all the toilet paper supplies at supermarkets. It was due to a joke by late American television talk show host Johnny Carson.

1-ply paper is better for the septic system.

A novella was once written on toilet paper. The story was based on a diverse range of literary conventions and themes.

FAQs

What is an interesting fact about toilet paper?

A toilet roll is also called a bog roll or loo roll.

How much toilet paper does the average person use per year?

An average person uses as many as 100 rolls of toilet paper every single year!

How much toilet paper is used per day in the world?

The USA alone uses up to 34 million rolls of toilet rolls every day. The daily toilet roll production of the world is over 84 million.

What country uses the most toilet paper?

Residents of the USA have the most toilet paper consumption in the world.

Who invented toilet tissue?

The toilet tissue was invented by the Tang Dynasty of ancient China.

How many sheets are in a toilet roll?

Single toilet paper rolls usually fall around 150 sheets per roll. However, double toilet paper rolls can range from 176-352 sheets per roll. These numbers vary according to the brand.