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Medieval Toilet Paper

Many of the poor folk in medieval times used their left hand as toilet paper. The Romans had latrines and latrine carriers, they did their stuff in clay pots.

Paper Toilet Medieval

I think I would have a used a leaf or some old cloth that could be washed Rags are a good thing to use. After all women used them too. It is interesting to find out how they did stuff back in the olden times.

Medieval Toilet Paper History & Civil Business Politics

Even today some parts of Asia and the Middle East still use their left hand, so this hand is considered unclean and I agree! The right hand is used for everything else even ifyou are naturally 'left handed'.

Paper Toilet Medieval

Yes I have visited some of those countries. I find it interesting that people still use the left hand in this way. Even going to some of the restrooms in other other countries is a lesson on how people use and view a restroom.

Paper Toilet Medieval

Krusten's original post made me curious and I did some googling and found that the toilets were very nice during the Tudor years. Some even had air vents and padded seats. And even in the late 1300s to early 1400s, medieval toilets weren't always so rustic, especially if you were a noble (go figure). Toilet paper could be a cotton or linen rags while the ordinary folks used a plant called common mullein, its leaves were very absorbent and very soft.

Commoners had chamber pots that were tossed out the window afterwards. They used moss or bits of worn clothing.

Going a little further back in history, Romans used a sponge on a stick. And because alot of their toilets were public, the stick was also communal. Apparently the wealthier Romans used ostrich feathers!

And the oldest water closet was supposedly found in India. It's 4,000 years old and like many of the bathrooms in India today, people would tip a pot of water into the loo or toilet, which washed away any waste through pipes and into drains.

Edited: Lisanne on 14th Nov, 2008 - 10:07pm

Medieval Toilet Paper

That is why people traditionally shake right hands. You never know where the left hand has been.

Medieval Toilet Paper

Name: Hannah

Comments: Asian people don't actually use their left hand to clean their thing. But to be a Muslim you have to clean your thing with your left hand not right because right is considered greater than the left. They Just use a tissue like normal people but with your left hand.

Medieval Toilet Paper Politics Business Civil & History

I am glad I do not live in ancient times. I am one who can rough it and have no problem. In those times you really think about the ancient people and what they used.