Toilet paper was invented in China around the 6th century but manufactured for the first time in the area now known as Zhejiang province in the 14th century.
In fact, the Farmer’s Almanac has a hole in the top left of each copy, a nod to the time when people would nail it to the outhouse wall for reading materials (and, yes, toilet paper).
Americans had to wait until the 19th century for a civilized way to wipe, which means there’s an awful lot of time to account for when people were…well, tidying up in the toilet with whatever was available.
Corncobs were a popular choice in rural areas, as was the Sears Roebuck catalog and the Farmer’s Almanac.
During the Civil War, Americans had J.C. Gayetty to thank for the first domestic toilet paper – “Gayetty’s Medicated Paper for the Water-Closet.”
Even after the advent of toilet paper, some outhouses were still stocked with a copy of the Farmer’s Almanac. It was so often hung in the structures for reading material (when it wasn’t be used…elsewhere) that the publishers designed it with a hole in the upper left-hand corner so it would be easier to tie it up to a hook for those who expected to spend some serious time out there.
Oh, and mark your calendars: May 6 is “Read Your Farmers’ Almanac in the Bathroom Day.”
Source: “What Did People Do Before Toilet Paper?” — Farmer’s Almanac
