When and where was toilet paper first invented? <<
*China…AD 1391 - The Bureau of Imperial Supplies began producing 720,000 sheets of toilet paper a year, each sheet measuring two feet by three feet. For use by the Emperors.
*USA…1857 - New Yorker Joseph C. Gayetty produced the first packaged bathroom tissue in the United States in 1857. The Gayetty Firm from New Jersey produced the first toilet paper named "The Therapeutic Paper". It contained an abundance of aloe, a curative addition. The company sold it in packs of 500 sheets for fifty cents, and Joseph Gayetty had his name printed on each sheet!
*USA…1890 - The Scott Paper Company is the first company to manufacture tissue on a roll, specifically for the use of toilet paper. Faced with the consumers' resistance toward the "unmentionable" product, Scott came up with the idea of customizing rolls for every merchant-customer they had. Under this private-label arrangement, Scott purchased large "jumbo" rolls of paper from various paper mills and converted them into packages of small rolls and stacked sheets.
*Great Britain…1880- British Perforated Paper Company
When was the first roll of toilet paper made and by whom? <<
Scott Paper Company marketed the first rolls of toilet paper. The Company was founded in 1879 by brothers E. Irvin and Clarence Scott in Philadelphia and specialized in producing toilet paper. At first they purchased paper and tissue from outside suppliers and cut, rolled and packaged the paper. They converted large parent rolls of tissue into small rolls and stacked sheets and began to market the product through drug and variety stores under private label names. Then, in 1896, Irvin's son Arthur joined the company at the age of 21. He convinced his father and uncle to phase out their private label business and concentrate on their own brand names. With this, Scott purchased the private label name Waldorf from a Philadelphian 'paper jobber' named Albert DeCernea in 1902 and began producing this as their first brand name. As sales grew, it became evident that production changes were necessary to guarantee consistency. In 1910, Scott bought an abandoned soap factory in Chester, 5 miles south of Philadelphia for $85,000 and began making their own parent rolls of tissue, 72" wide at 150-200 feet per minute instead of buying from others. Rolls were sold with either 650 or 1,000 perforated sheets. In 1915, Scott installed an advanced, high-speed Fourdrinier papermaking machine. It made paper 148" wide at 500 feet per minute. In 1921, their brand, Waldorf represented 64% of Scott's total case sales. By 1925 Scott became the leading toilet paper company in the world. (On July 17, 1995 Scott was acquired by Kimberly Clark)
Early Marketing
The roll did not easily fit into the consumer market at first. At the time, society did not speak of the subject frequently. It was quite 'unmentionable" to talk about this product in the conservative, Victorian era. However, during this time indoor plumbing was improving and the public had a desire for better hygiene.
An early advertisement <<
Scott advertisements were suggesting that "over 65% of middle-aged men and women suffered from some sort of rectal disease". Inferior toilet paper was deemed to be responsible. It was printed in Scott advertisements that "harsh toilet tissue may cause serious injury". The ad said " ScotTissue, Sani-tissue and Waldorf are famous bathroom tissues specifically processed to satisfy the three requirements doctors say toilet tissue must have to be safe: absorbency-softness-chemical purity". Each sheet, it said was made of "thirsty fibers." Scott tissue was made from the finest ingredients and "they are neither acid nor alkaline in reaction. Each sheet is fully sterilized in manufacture" it read.
The first paper roll towel- the ScotTowel. <<
There is a story that in 1907, a teacher in Philadelphia blamed a mild cold epidemic on the fact that students used the same cloth towel. So she cut up paper into squares and used them as individual towels. Around that time Scott was experimenting with a new type of crepe tissue. It was so thick that it couldn't be cut and rolled into toilet paper. So Arthur Scott ordered it to be made into rolls of towels and perforated into individual 13" x 18" sheets. This was called the Sani-Towels. Advertisements said, " For use once by one user." Success was helped by states that outlawed the use of cloth-roll towels because of spreading disease.
What did people use before toilet paper was invented? <<
*Newsprint, paper catalogue pages in early US
*Hayballs, Scraper/gompf stick kept in container by the privy in the Middle Ages
*Discarded sheep's wool in the Viking Age, England
*Frayed end of an old anchor cable was used by sailing crews from Spain and Portugal *Medieval Europe- Straw, hay, grass, gompf stick
*Corn cobs, Sears Roebuck catalog, mussel shell, newspaper, leaves, sand- United States
*Water and your left hand, India
*Pages from a book, British Lords
*Coconut shells in early Hawaii
*Lace was used by French Royalty
*Public Restrooms in Ancient Rome- A sponge soaked in salt water, on the end of a stick
*The Wealthy in Ancient Rome-Wool and Rosewater
*French Royalty-lace, hemp
*Hemp & wool were used by the elite citizens of the world
*Defecating in the river was very common internationally
*Bidet, France
*Snow and Tundra Moss were used by early Eskimos
How was the first newsprint manufactured? <<
The first newsprint was created from linen and rags. The rags were bought in bulk and treated for hours before being used in the newsprint production..
How did Kimberly Clark begin making newsprint? <<
In 1872, Charles Benjamin Clark, a 28 year old Civil War veteran and partner in the local Neenah, Wisconsin hardware store, recruited John A. Kimberly to join him in building a paper mill. Kimberly, Clark & Co. started their Globe Mill in Wisconsin. It was the first mill in Wisconsin to make newsprint out of linen and cotton rags. Women sorted the rags by hand for purity. Buttons and other hard substances were cut off. Then the rags were cut up by machines and boiled in large vats for 14 hours. After the boiling process, the rags were steamed, pressure-washed and rinsed for five hours. The rags were then bleached. Afterwards they were drained, and "beaten" to reduce the stock to a pulp. Bleaching chemicals were added for whiteness. To attain the consistency that was needed, the pulp was transferred through tubes and valves. Eventually, it was pumped into the containers of the papermaking machine. The 72" sheets then were made to pass through two different rolls: a copper steam-heated drier roll (which eliminated excess water) and a polishing roll, which gave it a finish. The final product was divided into squares, packaged in volume, and shipped to vendors. It sold for $.14 per pound.
When did Kimberly Clark begin making newsprint paper from wood?
The Atlas Paper Co., was established in 1878 by the four Kimberly Clark & Co. partners and three local businessmen.in Appleton, Minnesota. The company experimented with new papers and new equipment. It specialized in fancy manila wrapping paper, bond paper, box paper and achieved a reputation for innovative products (including toilet paper) and processes. It was the first mill in the state to produce paper made largely from ground wood pulp. Previously, newsprint was made from rags.
When was Kotex introduced?
In 1916, Kimberly Clark began concentrating oncreped wadding paper. This was five times more absorbent than cotton and could cost half as much. With the war in Europe provoking cotton shortages Kimberly Clark developed a thin form ofcreped cellulose they trademarked "Cellucotton." This was adapted for use as a filter in gas masks and bandages. The product was also being used by nurses as sanitary pads during menstrual periods. "American women wore a diaper of bird's-eye or outing flannel, which they were obliged to wash and reuse." In 1920, K-C began producing "Cellu-Naps," a sanitary napkin made of Cellucotton and fine gauze. The name was changed to Kotex and trademarked on September 21, 1920. For $.60 a customer received 12 napkins packaged in a "hospital blue" box.
What was the original marketing of Kotex?
Society's prim attitudes made it difficult to market sanitary napkins. In fact, a decade earlier, in 1896 Johnson & Johnson's produced a feminine pad made of cotton and gauze. The product never succeeded because of the turn-of-the-century morality that made advertising of the product impossible. In 1920, Kimberly Clark worried about their image organized a different company to market Kotex, just in case it failed. The company was named Cellucotton Products Company. Stores would not carry the product and magazines would not advertise. Sales were not good. But in 1921 K-C decided to 'stay in for the long haul'. By 1925 the product was beginning to gain acceptance. In 1926 Montgomery Ward advertised Kotex in their catalogue and millions of women began to use and accept sanitary napkins as a way of life.
When was Kleenex introduced?
Kimberly Clark first introduced Kleenex to the market in 1924 as a cold cream or make up remover. Because of the lackluster sales of Kotex in the early 1920's, the Cellucotton Products Company had an overabundance ofcreped wadding. They 'ironed' the wadding, cut it and made it softer. Initially, it was to be marketed as a cleaning towel, but because of the focus on the American women marketplace, the decision was made to market the tissue as a cold cream remover. In 1925 Ladies Home Journal advertised Kleenex as a way to keep skin beautiful. A K-C executive that suffered from hay fever was using these tissues instead of his handkerchief. In 1927 he influenced a new ad that said "for colds, never again use handkerchiefs". In 1929, the Kleenex Pop-Up box was first introduced. It remains the number one brand of facial tissue in the world.
Who invented the Flushing Toilet?
The flushing toilet was invented in 1596, not by Thomas Crapper as most people think, but by Sir John Harington. Harington, a British nobleman and godson of Queen Elizabeth I, invented a valve that when pulled would release water from a water closet. Sir John recommended flushing the toilet once or twice a day, although with our modern technology, we know that is probably not sufficient. (Rumor has it that, in Robin Hood's day, King Arthur - angry with how his brother ruled the country while the King was gone, named fair toilette, 'the john' - AKA as 'the Jon' to you folks.)
Did Thomas Crapper invent the toilet?
No. Although from 1861 to 1904 Crapper did have a successful career in the plumbing industry, holding nine patents for plumbing-related products in England, he did not invent the toilet. Albert Giblin holds the 1819 British Patent for the Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer, a system that allowed a toilet to flush effectively. Giblin worked for Crapper as an employee and the most likely scenario is that Crapper bought the patent rights from Giblin and marketed the device himself.
What does the word "toilet" mean?
Deriving in 1828, the original meaning of toilet, or toilette, is of French origin meaning the "act of washing, dressing, and preparing oneself". As the years went by, the word evolved into actually being the room or facility in which one arranges their toilet. In modern days, toilet refers to the plumbing fixture that one might use in the "bathroom", with "bathroom" now describing the facility one would go to for the purpose of using the toilet or lavatory.
Why is a bathroom often called the "toilet"?
" According to bathroom historian Frank Muir, the toilet and/or the outhouse have at one time or another been called the House of Honor (by the ancient Israelites), the House of the Morning (by the ancient Egyptians), the garderobe (literally, "cloakroom"), the necessarium, the necessary house, the reredorter (literally, "the room at the back of the dormitory"), the privy (that is, the private place), the jakes, the john, the loo, the W.C. (for water closet), room 100 (in Europe), the lavatory, the closet of ease, and many other things. In addition to euphemisms, needless to say, there is also an abundance of vulgar expressions Curiously, however, there is no "real" word for the place where one deposits one's bodily wastes. 'Toilet,' which is now thought of as the "official" term, is itself a euphemism-originally, toilet was the process of dressing, as in, "the lady has just completed her toilet." Before toilet assumed its present meaning in the early twentieth century, the accepted technical term for the "john" was the vaguely disgusting, but still euphemistic "bog-house."
Who was the first "soft" two ply toilet paper producer?
St. Andrew's Paper Mill in Walthamstow, London, is responsible for giving the world the comfort of soft toilet paper in 1942. Before then, many brands were single-ply and not at all pliable.
Who built the first papermaking machine?
In 1798, a Frenchman named Nicholas Louis Robert invented a machine to make paper in continuous rolls rather than sheets. The Fourdrinier brothers, who were English merchants, financed improvements in this machine in 1803. The first American Fourdrinier machine was built in 1827.
What is Kraft paper? <
In 1883, a German inventor named Carl Dahl discovered that adding sodium sulfate to the soda process produced a very strong pulp. This discovery produced the Kraft process. Kraft means strength in German. During the early 1900's, the Kraft process became the most important pulping process.
When did "wood" paper production begin?
Paper production from wood did not actually begin until the late 1800s.
