Do only Westerners use toilet paper?
Someone on Quora just told me that. Is it true?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
26 Answers
We Westerners use toilet paper?
No. Lots of non Westerners use toilet paper, if they can find it or the money to buy it.
Even some of the people on this Earth who you would imagine by virtue of their behaviour were only a half a step above the beasts use toilet paper.
Except in Indonesia. If you go there, take your own toilet paper.
This is such a great question.
The Quora buddy is incorrect. Guess which country invented toilet paper? (China). Many countries have access to TP. Whether they use it or not depends on different factors:
1. Cost of TP – In some countries, it is very expensive.
2. Plumbing systems – Sometimes the plumbing and/or waste treatment systems aren’t designed to handle TP.
3. Desired level of cleanliness – Using water to wash away any residue is much more sanitary than using TP.
4. Culture – Ever used a bidet? I haven’t. I’ve stayed in hotels in other countries that have them, but I have no clue how to use one. The people in countries who don’t use TP think that those of who do are not only bonkers, but dirty. I get their point.
5. Sustainability – TP can be made from recycled paper but it cannot be recycled. Water can be recycled, either through a natural process or man-made.
@Pied_Pfeffer When you use a bidet (and I would really love to have one), you still have to dry off with something, don’t you?
I just watched a video on how to use a bidet. It was quite fascinating. @anniereborn Yes, something is still needed to dry off. In some places, it is customary to use toilet paper. In others, a cloth is used. In the latter case, they are washed and reused.
@Dutchess_III From what I’ve read and watched, it does. The method is a matter of choice and/or availability. Some use their hand, just like we should do in the shower. This is where the opinion of those not using water are considered unclean comes in. Others just use the water and wipe away any residue with a cloth or TP. In all cases, they claim to wash their hands once done, just like traditional TP users do.
Well out here in the sticks we still use the Sears and Roebuck Catalog.
Old corncob here. It smarts but it works.
You’re moving into Hippy Central’s territory, @janbb !
When I had a bidet attachment to my toilet it kept the seat warm, and the water to a perfect temperature, and blew me dry. I still used some TP, but I guess you could sit there until completely dry.
In Japan a combo bidet toilet is very common, but there is still always TP available. I don’t know about other countries. Japan was the only country I’ve been to that has a bidet toilet in a public place, but I only saw that in one place.
Can’t say. But I do know that in the Middle East, there are no left-handed people because the left hand is considered dirty because that’s the hand they “wipe” with.
@kritiper I’ve read that, too. I’ve also read that it is a fallacy. So I ask, how do you know that this is a fact, especially for all Middle Eastern countries?
$500 may sound like a lot (and you may have missed other models that are cheaper). It may be more cost-effective in the long run, especially if reusable cloths for drying off are substituted for TP. As for sustainability, it depends upon the availability of water supplies (and electricity if using certain types) vs. creating toilet paper.
And why does this question only have one GQ mark?
@Pied_Pfeffer That is why countries that amputate a hand for theft will cut off the right hand.
ALL the people in China use tp. I can say that for sure.
@wsxwh111 Sounds like a Western saying “I wouldn’t do (blank) for all the tp in China!”
@janbb I’m not quite following… What are you trying to say please?
@wsxwh111 I’m making a joke which I understand would need explaining to you. The idiom is saying something like, “I wouldn’t date him (or do X) for all the tea in China.” So it struck me as funny to substitute “tp”.
now I get it, and that was good lol @janbb
I mean, think about it, that;s really a lot of tp
Response moderated (Spam)
Answer this question 
