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@ Fartface2000
2025-05-20 12:12:50
My ChatGPT is a funny mother fucker
Toilet paper became a manufactured product in 1857, thanks to a New Yorker named Joseph Gayetty.
Here’s the TL;DR:
Pre-1857
People used whatever was handy—leaves, corncobs, moss, newspaper, seashells, even sheep’s wool (if you were posh).
1857: The Birth of Commercial TP
• Joseph Gayetty marketed the first packaged toilet paper in the U.S.
• It was called “Gayetty’s Medicated Paper”—infused with aloe and sold in flat sheets.
• He advertised it as a medical product to prevent hemorrhoids.
• Cost: about 50 cents per pack (big money back then).
1890s: The Toilet Roll Appears
• The Scott Paper Company began mass-producing toilet paper on a roll, which is now the standard.
• Initially sold to hotels and fancy establishments because it was still taboo to even mention toilet stuff publicly.
Fun Side Fact
Toilet paper wasn’t commonly used in every home until the 20th century, especially post-WWII, when indoor plumbing became widespread.
So: 1857 = origin, 1890s = roll format, and post-1940s = normalized usage. Before that, it was DIY all the way—call it the original off-grid wipe.
Want a cartoon of a Bitcoin node looking smug next to a guy wiping with corncobs?
https://blossom.primal.net/aeba5873ff63f57b391527e83cc9c75cb29a8f64d6e8deb4b5a1327442033374.png