All wipe now but where would we be without loo roll?
March 1st 2006

What would we do without the all-important loo roll? And what did people do before it was invented? Peter Broom of SCA Tissue Europe looks at the history of loo paper - and at some of the ingenious alternatives that used to be used before it came on to the scene

Most of us regard toilet paper as pretty essential stuff. So it may come as a surprise to find out that it has only been available for around 150 years.

Of course there have always been alternatives, such as the daily newspaper cut into sheets and threaded on to a piece of string. But paper itself is a relatively new invention - so what happened before that?

In fact people tended to use whatever came to hand - and their imaginations. Leaves, sticks and hay were available to many and often the obvious choice. The resourceful Romans came up with the idea of a sponge on the end of a stick that was soaked in salt water between uses, while the early Eskimos used tundra moss and snow. Meanwhile, sheep's wool was being used in Viking Britain while the Americans resorted to corn cobs and the Hawaiians used coconut shells.

Most of these solutions were unacceptable to the rich, however, who opted for more luxurious materials such as wool, hemp or even lace.

Some very elevated figures such as King Henry VIII employed someone to carry out the wiping task for him. The Groom of the Stool performed this function by hand, and astoundingly it was a highly respected and soughtafter job. Many courtiers were only too glad to carry out such a highly personal task that came with the fringe benefit of influence over the king.

The Chinese, meanwhile, had come up with a much more civilised method of sanitising its rulers around 150 years previously. The invention of paper is often attributed to China and the nation's Bureau of Imperial Supplies began producing toilet paper in 1391 for the exclusive use of the emperor.

It took several hundred years before we in Europe even reached the stage of using old newspapers cut into sheets. Periodicals came into widespread circulation in the eighteenth century and these swiftly earned a place behind the lavatory door.

Despite the Chinese breakthrough in the 14th century, America claimed the invention of purpose-made toilet paper as its own in 1857.

Manufacturer Joseph Cayetty began producing it commercially and selling it in packs of 500 sheets for fifty cents, with his name printed on each sheet. Toilet "rolls"began being produced around 30 years later.

The first British loo paper appeared around this time. It was sold to begin with in individual sheets in a box, but loo rolls followed shortly afterwards. The first mass-produced toilet paper was coarse to the touch and it was not uncommon to find wood splinters in the early versions.

Then in the 1940s - to the relief of everyone - 2-ply toilet tissue was invented and softer toilet tissue became a possibility.

However, harsher products stayed around in away-from-home washrooms for many years and many of us will remember the shiny, nonabsorbent Izal and Bronco products that were commonly found in Britain's public washrooms until the 1960s and 1970s.

It was around this time that washroom managers began to realise that toilet rolls - whether harsh or soft - had several disadvantages when used in a public facility. For one thing, some washroom visitors would take the loo roll away with them when they went, either to use in the home or to hurl on to the pitch during Saturday's football match.

Another problem was that pranksters would find it funny to put the whole roll down the toilet, blocking the loo and putting it out of action.

Even if neither of these eventualities occurred, the paper on a normalsized loo roll would frequently run out.

A solution had to be found, and it was around this time - in the 1970s - that the industrial-sized roll was invented by SCA.

This product solved most of the common loo roll problems in one. It was equivalent to around 20 toilet rolls which meant it was much less likely to run out, even in a heavy-use washroom. It came in a lockable dispenser which kept theft to a minimum. Football matches became virtually loo roll-free zones since fans were not prepared to pay for their own toilet paper to throw on to the pitch. In fact the industrial roll was a highly successful product and one that has been copied and adapted by other manufacturers ever since.

Other products such as interleaved toilet tissue and twin-roll systems have been introduced over the years to provide an alternative, depending on the size and throughput of the washroom. Dispensers have become almost as important as the toilet tissue itself and manufacturers are constantly making them more hygienic, tougher, more tightly sealed and more aesthetically pleasing. The toilet tissue itself, of course, has become increasingly softer to the touch with not a splinter in sight.

The humble toilet roll took its time appearing in our lives, since its worldwide debut was preceded by those of the railway system and the electric motor. But since its arrival it has revolutionised our toilet habits and become one of the most necessary products in our daily lives.

The loo roll may not figure in the top ten inventions of all time, but it would probably earn a place in the list of the most useful - and most enduring - inventions ever.

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