An Australian tabloid made an unusual move ten days ago by publishing blank pages for readers who complained about the shortage of toilet paper, which was caused by the panic caused by the corona virus epidemic.
"We have published a special insert of eight white, blank pages perforated at the edge so they can be easily torn out and served to you in an emergency," wrote the NT News, a Darwin tabloid.
"The reasons for the mass purchase of toilet paper are that people feel that they are not in control of the situation due to the spread of the corona virus infection," explains Hans-Christian Gung, deputy director of the Institute of Psychology at the Berlin "Charite" clinic. He points out that people fear and loathe such situations, while at the same time buying material necessities has a calming effect on them.
Gung believes that some psychologists see cases of buying toilet paper as a fight against disgust on a physical level, caused by fear of the situation. According to him, people are guided by rational arguments, stocking up and choosing things with a long shelf life, such as canned food or buying what they know for sure they will need in the future. Toilet paper fits both criteria: it is non-perishable and necessary.
Toilet paper is one of the things we take for granted in the modern age, but the little pieces of paper that do the dirty work in our lives have appeared relatively recently. It was only in the sixth century that wealthy Chinese began to use paper for sanitary purposes, although its production had been perfected centuries earlier.
During the Tang Dynasty, an Arab traveler noted that the Chinese did not care about cleanliness because they did not wash with water, but only wiped with paper after defecating. In the Middle East, since ancient times, the left hand was used for cleansing with water after performing natural needs.
Toilet paper saw the light of day in 1596, but it would take another three hundred years for it to see commercial use.
Before there was any talk of paper, the ancient Greeks used stones and clay, and the Romans used a slightly softer sponge on a stick or - wool. The sponge on the stick was divided, and it stood in a bucket with well-salted water.
The American colonialists had an interesting habit of wiping with corncobs, and it took time for them to replace it with softer newspapers that they would hang on hooks, dnevnik.hr writes.
In our area, various types of larger leaves were used, and hands would be washed in a nearby stream.
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