This Is What People Used Before Toilet Paper Came Along – And It Wasn’t Just Leaves

Ahh, toilet paper. What would we do without it, eh? Life would seem if not impossible then somewhat unpleasant. Surprisingly, though, the soft bottom-wiping tissue has only been with us for less than two centuries. Before that, people had to make do with whatever they could find. And that was whatever nature – and weirdly, Sears – provided. We’re not just talking about moss, that’s for sure!

If you do run out of toilet paper, don’t worry. There are some ready-to-hand alternates available. You could repurpose a paper towel, for example, or even a tissue. And then there’s printer paper, newspapers or even a dishcloth if you’re really desperate. But all these things are modern inventions. Our ancestors couldn’t just rip off a page of The New York Times now, could they?

Nowadays, it seems there’s hardly anything more panic-inducing than running out of toilet paper. And that’s probably why tons of it is sold. Every year, Americans get through about 36.5 billion rolls of the stuff. That’s the equivalent of 15 million trees! Interestingly, that’s the same number of trees you’d need to make seven-and-a-half million toothpicks. Though we don’t recommend using them for toileting!

On top of the trees, toilet-paper making in the U.S. uses a mindblowing 474 billion gallons of water. Then, manufacturers also get through a whopping 253,000 tons of chlorine when bleaching the rolls. And there’s the huge amount of electricity that’s needed, too – more than 17 million million watts, to be precise.

We can’t forget about the packaging that’s needed as well. Or the energy used to ship the rolls to all corners of America, for that matter. And toilet paper can also pose a problem once it’s been used, as it places pressure on the sewerage and has to be sifted out during water treatment. That’s if it makes it to the plant, of course; TP can often cause blocked pipes.