You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone
We don’t exactly sit down with our friends and have long meaningful conversations about it. We certainly don’t give it the credit it’s due. But when we run out of it, we realize just how important it is to us!
That’s right. We’re talking about toilet paper.
Where would we be without it? It’s such an integral part of our day-to-day life, but what do we really know about toilet paper? Here are some fun facts about that thin white paper we wouldn’t want to live without.
- Approximately 70-75% of the population of the world doesn’t use toilet paper. For some it’s too expensive and for others there is insufficient plumbing.
• People in some parts of the world don’t use it because of a lack of trees.
• If you think your one-ply toilet paper is rough and uncomfortable, imagine this: In the Middle Ages, people used something called a ‘Gompf Stick’. It was an actual stick used to scrape. You don’t feel so hard-done-by anymore, do you!
• Wealthy Romans used wool soaked in rose water, while French Royalty used lace.
• Joseph Gayetty introduced packaged toilet paper to the US and had his name printed on every sheet. That’s not weird at all!
• It wasn’t until 1935 that a manufacturer was able to promise ‘splinter free’ toilet paper. Ouch!
• In an average household, a roll of toilet paper lasts approximately 5 days.
• Consumers use approximately 8-9 sheets per use. Apparently there is only one person living in that ‘average household’ mentioned above, and they are rarely home!
• The average person uses of 57 sheets a day.
• The average person uses 100 rolls of toilet paper a year. That’s over 20,000 sheets!
• The average roll weighs 227 grams.
• (I’m really tired of using the word average.)
• When you compare one-ply versus two-ply, one-ply lasts twice as long and tends to break down faster in a septic system. (I get the breaking down part, but I can’t quite comprehend lasting twice as long part…)
• The reason toilet paper disintegrates so quickly is because the fibers used in its production are so short.
• The standard measurement of a sheet is 4.5”x4.5”. And now you know!
• Global toilet paper demand uses nearly 30,000 trees every day. That’s 10 million trees a year!
• When asked what necessity they would bring to a deserted island, 49% of people said toilet paper before food! (The owner of our company said his wife!)
• Seven percent of Americans admit to stealing rolls of toilet paper from their hotel rooms. (Personally I’ll stick to shampoo, conditioner, soap, shower caps, shoe shine cloths…)
• There once was a toilet paper museum in Wisconsin. The Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue was closed in 2000.
• There is still a virtual toilet paper museum called “Nobody’s Perfect”
“Maybe they should have a toilet paper museum. Would you like that? So we could see all the toilet paper advancements down through the ages. Toilet paper during the Crusades, the development of the perforation, the first six-pack.” – Jerry Seinfeld
Now that you know more about toilet paper than you ever thought you would, we just want to give you a quick reminder. Toilet paper is the ONLY thing that should go down your toilet. If by chance something else happens to go down there and you up end with a clog, don’t forget to call Water Heater Rescue!
Let us know! A or B?
