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Toilet paper (also TP, lavatory paper, toilet tissue, bathroom tissue, toilet roll, loo roll or bog roll) is a tissue paper product designed for the cleaning of the anus to remove fecal material after defecation or to remove remaining droplets of urine from the genitals after urination.

Toilet paper, which differs in composition from facial tissue, is designed to deteriorate when wet in order to keep drain pipes clear. Some types of toilet paper are designed to decompose in septic tanks, while other bathroom and facial tissues do not. Most septic tank manufacturers advise against using paper products that are non-septic tank safe. Toilet paper is sometimes euphemistically called "bathroom tissue" (in the UK, "toilet tissue,", "loo roll" or "bog roll"); this usage is common in commercials in the United States.

History

Records of human usage of toilet paper first appeared in China, during the 14th century.

The classic 16th century satirical novel Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais contains references to various toilet paper alternatives. For example, in the 13th chapter of the First Book, titled "How Grandgousier realized Gargantua's marvelous intelligence, by his invention of an Arse-wipe," the giant Gargantua, while still a child, tries dozens of different methods for wiping his bottom, including paper, but unfortunately he finds it "leaves some chips on his ballocks". Finally he discovers the best method:

But to conclude, I say and maintain that there is no arse-wiper like a well-downed goose, if you hold her neck between your legs. You must take my word for it, you really must. You get a miraculous sensation in your arse-hole, both from the softness of the down and from the temperate heat of the goose herself; and this is easily communicated to the bum-gut and the rest of the intestines, from which it reaches the heart and the brain.

The first factory-made paper marketed exclusively for toilet use was produced by Joseph Cayetty in the United States in 1857. Cayetty's name was printed on every sheet. Before this invention, wealthy people used wool, lace or hemp for their ablutions, while less wealthy people used their hand when defecating into rivers, or cleaned themselves with various materials such as rags, wood shavings, leaves, grass, hay, stone, sand, moss, water, snow, maize husks, fruit skins, or seashells, and cob of the corn depending upon the country and weather conditions or social customs. In Ancient Rome, a sponge on a stick was commonly used, and, after usage, placed back in a bucket of saltwater.

Read more at Wikipedia.org