More than just wipe it away
10 facts about toilet paper that you definitely didn’t know
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Wipe away: You don’t talk about toilet paper. It is actually indispensable. Here are ten facts about toilet paper that you definitely didn’t know.
According to a legend, the Romans greeted each other with their right hand, because the left hand was used to wipe the bottom and was therefore “dirty”. Whether this story is true or whether it is a myth will probably never be fully clarified, but the greeting has held up to this day. What is guaranteed to be certain: The first mention of toilet paper is in 6th century China.
At that time, however, they tended to use old rags and scraps of fabric. It wasn’t until 1857 that the first commercial toilet paper as we know it today came about. At this point in time still as single sheets in a box. The rolled toilet paper then began its triumphal march from Germany around the world in 1888. More fun and interesting facts about what is arguably the most important paper for our small and large businesses are now to follow.
10 fun and interesting facts about toilet paper
There is a lot to learn about the most important minor paper. Here are ten fun and curious facts about toilet paper:
- Germans use around three billion rolls of toilet paper every year. That corresponds to around 750,000 tons of paper or almost 38 rolls per person per year. Men use around 2,960 rolls of toilet paper in their lifetime, and women use more than 3,100 rolls. That’s a lot of toilet paper!
- Around 66 percent of Germans prefer to fold their toilet paper. Only about seven percent crumple it. It looks different in the Anglo-American region. The majority of people here crumple the toilet paper.
- The novelist Karl-Heinz Jäger secretly wrote his book “The Fortress” on toilet paper in prison. In 1962 the novel was published – on real paper, of course.
- There is a toilet paper calculator that companies can use to calculate their toilet paper needs. on www.blitzrechner.de/toilettenpapier the number of available roles and toilet visits per day can be entered. The calculator then calculates the paper consumption per person in the company per day.
- Toilet paper is often used in public toilets as a protective layer against contact with the toilet seat. A little hysterical, as one study found. There are 200,000 times more bacteria on our kitchen sponge than on a toilet seat.
- Two-ply toilet paper is used in most countries. Germany is more spoiled in this case. Three-ply toilet paper is preferred here. Incidentally, this thickness also enables printing on the paper. When abroad, toilet paper is usually unprinted.
- Apropos printed: a few years ago, Edeka had unicorn toilet paper with a cotton candy scent in its range for a short time. With complete success, the magical toilet paper was sold out straight away.
- Toilet paper is available in a wide variety of colors and nuances, only one color has so far not caught on, although one or the other company has tried it: Brown. The reasons for the failure have not yet been clarified.
- It is a matter of taste whether a toilet paper roll is hung to the front or to the rear. In hotels, however, the forward direction is used. The reason for this: By folding the first sheet, the cleaning staff can indicate to the guest that the bathroom has been cleaned.
- 80 percent of German companies use recycled toilet paper, but only just under 25 percent of all private households. So sustainability isn’t exactly the Germans’ strength on the toilet. There is still something going on! Maybe with the right toilet paper? We talked to Manou Otolski von Goldeimer about dry toilets, humus fertilizer and social toilet paper.
Read the interview with Goldeimer here.