Toilet Paper

What about toilet paper? Ever tried the Arab way? Do you know why the left hand is considered unclean in the Arab world? Diapers?

Offered by Jan.

From Usenet Archives:

In remote areas in summer, my second wipe is always with water at the lake's edge. Then, with wet hands, I go roll them around in the cooled off ashes from the fire (that's where soap comes from, remember), and come back to the water's edge for final cleaning. On a trip to India, I noticed that all poor people would wipe their bums with their left hand and water this way, then use soap for washing. The worst insult made to thieves in the past was to cut off their right hand, forcing them to eat and wipe with the same hand.

Andre Bourbeau

For lack of anything at all, you can always use "ranger wipe". With ranger wipe you wipe twice. First you wipe your butt, then you wipe your finger. It is for this reason that in many undeveloped countries the people customarily eat with only one hand - the other one! If you "wipe twice" then be sure to sterilize your hands afterwards by vigorously rubbing with aromatic/antiseptic herbs like sage, juniper, or yarrow. Just about any highly aromatic plant will have antiseptic properties. As long as you can identify the most dangerous plants in your region, then you can safely use any others with aromatic properties.

Thomas J. Elpel
thomas@hollowtop.com