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Comment by hn23 | Hacker News Reader

I really do not understand this toilet paper thing. I mean as long as there is water, why people do not wash their asses. It is cleaner anyway...

When I was young and we visited grandparents, we used newspaper.

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Not to detract from your overall point, but it's not like most people have newspaper these days.

Your comment immediately reminded me this commercial : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbMOLg-2SFw

I had the same reaction at first, but after a bit of thinking I reached this:

You can do without it, sure, but if you don't have a bidet then it's inconvenient and annoying. Toilet paper is cheap, easy to store and it does not degrade (in a meaningful timeframe).

Basically, unless you are really space constrained, there are no downsides to having more than needed, so why not buy extra?

I say this as someone who had to go without a couple days because the stores had been cleared of any toilet paper.

Yeah, it took me a while to understand this behavior. However, it seems you can make a face mask to protect against CV-19 using toilet paper. Please do your research, I found too many links. In the situation you don't have a proper mask, a plastic mask, with holes, to keep toilet paper on your face may safe your life these days.

I don't understand it because between my girlfriend and me we seem to use about a roll per week. I thought it was because I usually take a dump at work, but even after lock down our usage doesn't seem to have changed significantly. And yes if it does run out then the shower is right next to the toilet and I have visited Nepal a few time where water is the way to clean.

(When I was young schools and public toilets always seemed to have horrendous tracing paper like stuff).

That’s what I’ve always said. If you smeared a bit of poop on your face or arm, you wouldn’t be content with just wiping it down with a thin piece of toilet paper. You’d probably shower!

So why should your ass be any different?

I use my face and my arm to engage with people, and prepare and eat food. I don't generally use my arse for these activities.

Face is an exaggeration. Its unusual to touch peoples face unless you are very close to them .

It's different because I don't use my ass to open doors, type on computers, prepare/eat food, or scratch my eye. Your face and arms, however, get involved in those activities sooner or later. I don't care if my poop cannon has a bit of residue around the rim that paper can't quite remove, handling shit is literally what it does every day, and it's otherwise stowed away safely.

Granted, I bet a warm-water bidet feels fantastic and I would probably never go back if I had one.

Well take a guess why the left hand in some regions of the world is considered dirty even there is water around to wash? Because toilet paper is seen as improper cleaning.

BTW: You can use something like a small washing towel (I do not know what the proper english word is - in German it is Waschlappen). So you do not have to touch your shit:)

Waschlappen would be something like “Wash Cloth”. Lappen is one of my favourite German words.

Face flannel, I think. The Dutch is "washandje".

I've thought the same thing and after spending time in Asia I got really accustomed to using a water hose. This whole thing (among other things) has made me question the practicality of toilet paper even more, strongly considering installing a hose in the bathroom.

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