I suspect a similar question would be 'How long is a piece of string?
Is toilet paper a western phenomenon only?
Given the apparent lack of toilet paper in supermarkets, it seems pertinent (or impertinent) to ask how long a roll (of given number of sheets; ply etc) would last an 'ordinary' family or person.
Can both sides be used? Can the material be recycled?
What alternatives to toilet paper are there?
What leaves would you avoid (e.g. poison ivy)?
Is there a database for toilet paper usage?
How much can be hoarded before it overwhelms a family?
Regardless of the answer, water showers/bidets last longer (provided that society doesn't break down, of course, at which case, I suspect TP will also run out).
One less thing to worry about in the current shopping 'craze', at least in the MENA region and many places in Asia.
Well, back to my grandmother age (she was born in early's 90, i guess 1922 or 1923) people used naked corn cob to clean theirself. Using leaves in a tropical country has a huge probability of putting you into trouble.
To avoid contamination, I guess you can use one side, fold and reuse the clean part.
I'm not a specialist on this thing, but here in Brazil we have a graduation course on domestic economy (my literal translation), where students face this kind of situation, and in a lecture once a lady told a friend of mine that you should cut your paper at the third zip mark, fold it by half, use, fold, use again, than drop it, again, I'm sorry, but I don't have a peer reviewed reference on it!
Hope this contribute!
Luiz Fernando de Sousa Lima Omar Z. Sharaf
Here in the US a corn cob has also been mentioned. I assume it's one that's already been eaten...
I listened to an Australian professor on NPR (National Public Radio) who stated that the 'problem' could be averted if the Federal Government had a huge repository (depository?) of toilet rolls and would issue 2 per person in the event of a national emergency. People then wouldn't feel inclined to go out and buy knowing that there was a huge government reserve .
And here's a pertinent link:
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/07/813191533/why-is-there-a-worldwide-run-on-toilet-tissue-amid-the-coronavirus
Alan F Rawle
From the perspective of this side of the world: A very strange place for writing memoirs....
Alan F Rawle I'm not sure about people and government stock.. I mean, here it wouldn't work, politicians shit a lot, there's not enough stock in the entire world for cleaning their mess, I can't imagine they sharing toilet paper...
Alan F Rawle I didn't understand what you mean but Put chocolate on a wooden floor and then try to get rid of it with a dry towel ... the operation will not work But the use of wet wipes, because it is more effective and recommended by many experts, These warnings note that the dependence on water in the toilets or wet wipes, More effective in achieving complete hygiene than relying on tissue only.
Dear Dr Alan F Rawle
In Venezuela, chavistas have not been able to take away our habit to use toilet paper. The water bottle didn´t work as a replacement here. Many years ago, I lived in the Soviet Union & I didn´t see any Westerners trying to use the water bottle, we managed to get replacement using old notebooks. The same happens in vzla. You probably are right, toilet paper is a western phenomenon.
The old joke is that to optimise usage you should only use one square at a time. You double fold it in such a way that you can put tear off a triangle in the middle of the square where you put your index finger trough. You then use your finger to clean yourself. The square you put your finger through is used to clean your finger. The triangle you tear off to create the hole is then used to clean the nail of your index finger. In that way, a roll of toilet paper can last quite long........
Gerrit Jordaan The above method can also be practiced even without the paper...
I don't what to think about this feed but something interesting I've seen on youtube about how the shortage happened ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br5U38OheyM&t=695s it is in french but the automatic translation in english is pretty good). He makes a parrallel between how a virus spread and the hysteric behaviours that we've seen.
Alan F Rawle you al least need to clean your finger! That is where the toilet paper comes into play......
Gerrit Jordaan I'm interested in your belief that the finger 'needs' to be cleaned...
Zakaria Salmi Maybe a better question is 'How much toilet paper do we really need?'. Our local stores are still out after 6 weeks or so... Where has it all gone? Where is the toilet paper mountain?
Alan F Rawle you are absolutely correct. I allowed subjectivity to control logic required to objectively assess the need for toilet paper - trying to find logic as to how long a roll of toilet paper should last or what happened to all the toilet paper that after six weeks some shops are still out of toilet paper (makes me worry! - no such experience).
Never-the-less, that takes us forward to the year 2054 (not my story). A very important day in the life of John Smith - this is the day he is going finally going to use the last roll of toilet paper his grandfather bought in the year 2020...
Gerrit Jordaan There' actually data that shows a roll should last 5.3 weeks... This is so ridiculous as there isn't a CRM toilet roll for starters and usage must vary as per your illustration. And I think using both sides (as Private Eye believed) is not practical.
Dear Alan F Rawle, in Germany, there must exist toilet paper mountains that will last for many months, if not years!
Christian G Meyer
A good question and one I cannot answer. Glad to hear from you again, another founding member of the FSG (Fake Scientist Group)...
Article Influence of perceived threat of Covid-19 and HEXACO persona...
Article The Use of Electric Toilet Seats with Water Spray Is Efficac...
Victor B. Asio if you mean this highly intellectual thread: I find it pretty cool.
Dear All, check out the absolutely essential toilet paper calculator:
https://howmuchtoiletpaper.com
Frank T. Edelmann Yes, Sir, it is indeed intensely intellectually stimulating:=)
According to a study by the industry association for personal care and detergents, every German consumes an average of 46 rolls of toilet paper per year - and thus causes 11.5 kilograms of CO2 emissions. Toilet paper has only been around in Germany for around 100 years. ... 3651 rolls of toilet paper are used by the average German in the course of his life.
In rural areas in the Philippines, coconuts are everywhere. So the coconut husk is a top favorite.
- Badges
- Science topic