Before The Toilet Paper what did people use?

[conret 0]

i was wondering--what did people use before the invention of toilet paper because mass producton of paper is a pretty recent thing and i would think that about 1000 years ago only the wealthy could afford to use it. Any ideas how this was done in the early days? TY

[husker 0]

Do you really want to know? I would guess they they didn't use anything. Just let it out and leave lol.

[Dragonfly 0]

They would have used anything including leaves. And for sure they use water. Some people assumed that they might have used water and their own hands but not their bare hands. They would have used water to to rinse but never touch. Yes, I agree toilet paper is not very old compare to a very old human history. When people lived as nomads they would have used leaves or even sticks in forests. It was not a big deal I suppose.

[husker 0]

So that explains the brown leaves lol. How come we never have fossils of their "droppings"

[serverph 0]

i would bet the ancient egyptians used papyrus!

 

seriously, here's a more extensive history of toilet paper and its use throughout the ages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_paper

 

now, we'll have less to wonder about it.

[FLaKes 0]

Well, I guess it would depend on the place you lived in. Because some places could have papyrus while some other places wouldnt have it. Others would have tree leaves and some others would probably not even clean themselves at all. I wouldnt want to go any further with that..

[AlternativeNick 0]

i must say, that is a rather interesting wikipedia article lol... i swear the things that people put on there, they really make me wonder :S

[Reaper 0]

i suppose they used their hands or something. maybe even leaves and hopefully they knew which ones were poisonous and which one were very ruff or it could end up being quite painful !!! LOL

[brandice 0]

One of the first steps in evolution was probably figuring out how to... um... clean themselves. Maybe they used scraps of whatever they made their clothes out of? We could all come up with pleasent ideas, but I am sure as yucky as it is, they probably used their hands. ew.

[premracer 0]

Not to sound nasty or anything but like Husker said, they prolly just used nothing, or tree bark maybe cloth, leaves. Im sure they were very resourceful and used what they had a non limited resource of to use for their bathroom dutys

[sexymama1723 0]

I don't know but from what I heard some people used their hand(which is so gross) But really you would have to research that because I really don't know the answer that lol

[Nani Cheri 0]

Yeah, thats a good question. It remind me of the question I used to ask myself as a lady. How did the women do with their ..you know.. I guess its called 'period' in english. But yeah how did they do that? I mean sounds a bit nasty thinking they just let it out too. And wouldn't they think, with the lack of knowledge they had then, that they were bleeding to death? But I shouldn't go off topic.So to make a story short, I think they used leaves, or soft tree cortex maybe?

[BOAW 0]

uh back in those days they prolly used leaves i guess i dont know...if not they prolly had to spread their **bottom** cheeks mad wide n let it all out without leaving anything behind lol because thats just too uncomfortable to be tolerating with that sh-- lol

[me_boxer_dude 0]

I guess people might have been using cloth or paper or tree bark or maybe just water and hands.

[icemarle 0]

Haha... interesting topic. Though I've thought of the same thing as Nani_Cheri. I think they had cloth for it... or at least animal hide. For the pre-toilet paper stuff, I think they'd use anything. O_o If they have no other choice, they probably use their hands... (ew) But of course, I'm sure they have water for that. I still think they use their hands as a last resort because it'll reaaally stink and people they meet will get grossed out. They probably used anything like leaves and other stuff.I'm so thankful I'm living in an age where it's pretty hygienic.