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How Did People Wipe Before the Invention of Toilet Paper?
And no, it wasn’t with leaves.
Modern people love toilet paper. This is something that the world learned during the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone rushed to the store to hoard the good white paper to ensure that they never ran out. The idea that they could potentially run out of toilet paper during an emergency sent them into a frenzy, which baffled observers and pundits alike. How can one possibly be expected to live without toilet paper?
Funny enough, that is exactly what people did for thousands of years. Toilet paper is a relatively recent invention. The widespread use of toilet paper didn’t make it into the mainstream until the 19th century, when the industry was able to mass produce soft paper for the purpose of wiping a dirty butt. But what about before that? How did people wipe before the invention of toilet paper? Did they just use leaves, like dads like to suggest when you are camping in the woods? Not quite.
(Reusable) Natural Sponges
One of the most common ways that people used to wipe themselves before toilet paper was by using natural sponges. Sponges are fairly common along coastlines around the world. Since most ancient peoples live somewhat near the coast, the idea that sponges proliferated for the purpose of…
