Bum Fodder: An Absorbing History of Toilet Paper

by Richard Smyth

This is the hidden history of an invention that we use every day but seldom dare to speak of. In medieval China it was cutting-edge technology. For 19th-century Americans it was a newfangled alternative to dried corncobs and the Sears & Roebuck catalogue. Wits in Georgian London preferred pages of bad poetry. The sages of ancient Athens were content to wield the xylospongion instead. ItOCOs the tale of toilet paper; the biography of bumfodder. From its origins at the Imperial court of Emperor Hongwu to its reinvention as a quack remedy for haemorrhoids in 1870s New York city; from the Dutch and their mussel-shells to Henry VIII and his Groom of the Stool; from Madame de PrieOCOs pioneering bidet to the space-age Washlet; from leaf-wielding chimpanzees to Mr Thirsty Fiber and the worldOCOs first three-adjective loo-roll ? itOCOs a story of necessity and invention, luxury and squalor, experiment and tradition. What does a submarine crew do when it runs out of toilet paper? Who stole the PopeOCOs loo-roll? Does printerOCOs ink cause piles? How do you fold a sheet of toilet paper in half more than seven times? What did ?bumphleteersOCO do, and why? Richard Smyth answers the questions you never thought to ask about the product we canOCOt live without. "

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Humor

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Richard Smyth is a writer, researcher and editor based in Bradford. He is a regular contributor to Bird Watching magazine, and reached the final of Mastermind with a specialist subject of British birds. He writes and reviews for The Times, Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review, New Statesman, BBC Wildlife, New Humanist, Illustration and New Scientist. He also writes novels and short fiction, and has written several books on English history.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel pretty certain somebody deliberately dropped this title in the middle of the toilet paper listings on Amazon. Which, if so, I gotta say - well done! I fell for it as this was the only toilet paper-based product that was both in stock and appealing at the time.

And what a little delight it was! At a mere 100 or so pages, it had basic facts (yes, the Chinese were first to invent toilet paper), some mighty European historical tidbits (nothing so enjoyable as years-long bureaucratic battle over the quality of toilet paper stocked in the government office), some general perspective on toilet paper history - and business history - in both the U.S. and UK. And, of course, a multitude of tongue-in-cheek puns, asides and comments.

This might normally be more of three-star read for me, but considering the times we're living in I'm harboring five-star feelings. I guess that averages out to 4 stars - time well spent!

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I learned a few interesting facts, I was disappointed overall. There's not a lot of there there. And I found the tone seriously off-putting. Smyth was trying so hard to be cute that it got very old very fast.

[John Rennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puerile but entertaining.

And of course if you don't like the book you can always put it behind you.

[Popup-ch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paper for post-poop purification.

A lighthearted but serious look at the history of arsewiping. The wiping of bottoms has not been extensively studied throughout history, but Smyth has found some interesting nuggets. Bottom-wiping is almost exclusively human. There are instances of chimps wiping their behinds with leaves, but it's pretty rare. For a long time people presumably used whatever was handy - leaves or pebbles seem to be a common choice. (Muhammed instructed his followers to always use an odd number of pebbles (and more than three), if using pebbles.)

Rabelais' Pantagruel tried a lot of different things as torchecul, and came to the conclusion that the nec plus ultra in rectal purification was the neck of a goose.

The Chinese were (as always) first to use paper - or at least the first documented case of paper being ordered for the explicit use of anal cleansing comes from china.

For a long time scrap paper was used, such as newspaper or the writings of competitors. Wiping ones bottom with someone elses writing as an insult goes back a surprisingly long way - apparently Catullus used the writings of Volusius to that effect. It was probably written on papyrus and would probably have served the intended purpose.

The first western paper explicitly sold for this purpose was not until 1857 in USA. It did not take long for the habit to spread, though. Before long, perforated paper on rolls became the norm.

The future for toilet paper is not certain. It is being challenged from two fronts - wet-wipes and the japanese-style water jet. Both are making inroads in the western bathrooms.

Unfortunately the book did not give any satisfactory answer to my long-standing question of why French toilet paper was pink for such a long time.

Not does it mention the untold number of outdoor defecators in e.g. india and what they use for post-poop purification.

[James Hallmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, a book on the history of toilet paper. With all the interest in toilet paper in the past month I found this book referenced in a newspaper article about toilet paper hoarding. I figured, “why not?” It’s interesting, written humorously, and informative. The term “bum fodder” is apparently a common worldwide English expression describing what one uses to clean up after, well, you know. As the title suggests, this is its history. The first third or more of the book predates the invention of toilet paper. I found the pre-paper history less interesting and more crass. Smyth relies heavily on literature or mythology in discussing such practices in Roman and Greek eras, the Levant, China, etc and the descriptions are unsettling. I believe he revels in the crassness too much. Once we get to actual toilet paper, he keeps his sense of humor but relies more on historical developments, statistics, stories of marketing the product, etc. It’s not a long book (a couple of hundred pages) and is a fun read.

[Niffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy books like this, and yet this one (just over 100 pages) took me several months to finish. I felt as though the author was trying too hard to be cute, and perhaps could have spent a little more time on organizing things in a more cohesive way.

Still, it was well researched and probably has some interesting tidbits for people who want to learn more about toilet paper. :)

[Rayfes Mondal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok. A few funny stories (best TP is a goose neck) but couldn't get into all of the chapters and skipped a few min the middle. Only 100 pages or so.

[John Benton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about the history of toilet paper. What can I say... Of the books I have read, this is one.