You don’t wipe yourself with a dry towel and think that you have taken a bath.. Then how come wiping your rear with a tissue paper makes it clean. I have been brought up in a culture which uses only water for cleaning and this makes my life real hard when I am traveling. I wonder why cleaning yourself with water has not caught up with the rest of the world.
It is more hygenic & saves trees as well.
street, Bengaluru South, Karnataka, India
16 replies on “Toilet Paper”
The moment I read this, I knew I had to give a link.
Read it here http://www.cuckooscosmos.com/Travel/2007/03/09/my-first-apartment-in-geneva/
Initially when looking at the website name, got a mild shock. We Tamilians have a slang for the loo and that is ‘Kackoos’ !.
it is also a name of a bird species known for its melodious voice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo
🙂 When I traveled, the plastic mug was on must carry list.
Ankur, soooooooooo true!!! I don’t understand why the western countries have to waste so much paper on this one when they can use water instead (they waste so much anyway). The first time I was subject to such an experience, I almost used half the roll but still felt so awkward and unclean. yuck! Thank God that unlike other countries (which did not have this practice initially), India did not adopt this trend. And as Karthi put it, the mug is a must carry list for me too 🙂
I don’t carry a mug along, but I do use an empty water bottle/cold drink bottle to serve the purpose….
However no matter how careful one is, sometimes one needs to use the public toilets.
maybe because the west and the east followed europe in toilet culture
the european countries are very very cold and people quite reluctant to get their hands wet
they never use water and use tissues for everything , even in kitchens etc
im havin first hand experience becoming kulfi at .8c
🙂 enjoy ur stay… Hopefully we won’t have to thaw you back life once you return.
hahaha, i had a similiar awkward experience. where in a hotel i stayed they werent any mugs…so i had to use the empty water bottle
hmm try wiping yourself with water in the middle of a freezing winter……
@kamal…
good to see you after a long hiatus. 🙂
@sandip…
You have no idea how low the temperature at lucknow goes. But still in the hostel i am yet to see a single (Non French) person using a toilet roll.
I can’t concur with the fact that chillness is the reason for using paper instead of water. Almost all taps in Western countries are equipped to provide hot water as well and I *think* practically too, water is a better option during winter. Imagine a dry paper rubbing against an even drier ‘winter’ skin! I have had very painful experiences with toilet paper during winter 🙁 Felt I was using a sand paper. Every wipe would make me twitch in agony. This made a moisturiser accompany me for every toilet vist :((
The reason why westerners did not use water was probably because they did not want to touch the anus directly. Further westerners always wanted their toilets to be dry and hence water was a no-no. Even in homes if you want to wash your legs, you have to get into the tub. However now that water jets are available, washing with water too does not involve the hands as it used too. All said and done water is better than paper – it ensures that the inside of your underwear does not turn light brown!!!
It is amazing that this item has received so many comments – probably a reflection of the lowest (bottom-most?!!!)denominator of common interest.
@Ramaswami…
i agree that the cultures promoting monthly/annual baths would have reservations against excessive use of water…..
however skid marks can be avoided by careful use of toilet paper too
I was born in Belgium and lived there until I was 9 years old. As a boy, our family was very poor, and we used newspaper to wipe. We then emigrated to the USA and so the newspaper that met our butts was in English instead of French. Finally, after a few years, we got the “luxury” of getting toilet paper, and we thought we had it made.
In 2005, I had the opportunity to travel to Thailand, and met a girl, and we got married. I always wondered why she did not use toilet paper, then one day, she told me. I tried water instead of the paper, and the rest is history, that was about 5 years ago, and I haven’t use toilet paper since. Now, I’m back in the US, and when I have to go to a public restroom, I can’t wait to get home to wash, because I always feel so dirty, and wonder how I was able to use paper for all the years before. Just think about how many trees are used to make the toilet paper in the so called “civilized World”.
@Joe…
I can understand how u feel