A crisis grips the globe, the United States, and even Union. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a shortage of the world’s most important commodity grips the nation—a toilet paper shortage. When the coronavirus began to spread in Europe and the United States, people panicked and decided to stock up on essentials. Since toilet paper is more important than food and other necessities, people stocked up on toilet paper, causing a toilet paper shortage in the United States. This has stretched across the globe and has even reached Union. Although a necessity, toilet paper has only been around for a few hundred years, and surprising alternatives exist for people who run out of toilet paper during this crisis.
The history of toilet paper is a relatively short one for such an important commodity. The Chinese invented paper as a wrapping and padding material during the period of 200 B.C.-101 B.C. This early paper was also used like toilet paper. By the 6th century A.D., this early toilet paper was used all across China. The modern version of toilet paper did not exist until 1391. The Chinese emperor at the time requested perfumed toilet paper for his family, and by the late 15th century, this version of toilet paper became widespread in China among the wealthy as well. Mass production of toilet paper, however, has only existed since 1857 when Joseph C. Gayetty created the first “rolls” of toilet paper; this paper was called “The Therapeutic Paper” consisted of flat sheets medicated with aloe. This invention did not catch on well, and toilet paper still was not used by the masses.
In 1867, Thomas Seymour, Edward Irvin, and Clarence Wood Scott sold some kind of toilet paper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Scott brothers founded the Scott Paper Company in 1879, and they began selling toilet paper in real rolls by 1890. Zeth Wheeler also invented perforated toilet paper during the 1870s and began selling them in 1897. During the late 1800s, many different people invented different varieties of rolls of toilet paper. This continued into the 1900s as people began refining toilet paper; in 1935, Northern Tissue invented splinter free toilet paper, and in 1942, St. Andrew’s Paper Mill in England invented two-ply toilet paper, which is used in many countries today.
Before most people used toilet paper, they relied on many other (and sometimes painful) things—wood shavings, hay, rocks, corn cobs, and even ropes. Other people used many other materials that varied with social class. Today, there are many less painful materials to use as alternatives to toilet paper. Regular paper is one of the main alternatives in the forms of notebooks pages, phone books, or any other expendable source of paper. Bidets are also available as well as sponges, cloth rags, and cotton rags. If using any reusable alternative to toilet paper, cleaning (sometimes with bleach) is extremely important. Because of the toilet paper shortage, many people may find this knowledge extremely important.
The toilet paper shortage is one of the worst disasters in modern history, and many people may have to go without since others panicked and stocked up on this essential product. The alternatives to toilet paper may prove invaluable during these trying times, and the history of toilet paper may show people that they will survive without modern toilet paper as people did for thousands of years. Furthermore, since toilet paper is apparently such an essential, those who have stockpiled toilet may appreciate this short history of the world’s most important commodity. Society values toilet paper, and this will be the product that people turn to in times of crisis.
