What did people use before there was toilet paper?

Question

So for so many centuries what did people use
to wipe there butt? how about washing there hands?

Did everyone just take a crap by the lake? or dig a hole

Answer 1

Romans used sponges on sticks, which would have been communally used and stored in a jug of vinegar or salt water in between uses.

In medieval castles, straw was the bum-wipe of choice. Many a fire was caused by a sleepy castle dweller leaving a burning candle in the "garderobe" and setting fire to the straw which would have covered the floor.

Grass, leaves etc all would have been used. Medieval peasants would not have had toilets, they would have "done their business" out in the open and used a handful of grass to wipe with.

In the early part of the twentieth century (and probably before that), newspaper would be cut up into squares to use as toilet paper. A hole would be punched through the squares so they could be hung on a nail in the "privy".

Answer 2

Well, just use your imagination: grass, leaves, fur, mussell shells, corncobs, stinging nettles... okay, maybe not that last, at least not more than once. The ancient Greeks used stones and pieces of clay; ancient Romans used sponges on the ends of sticks, kept in jugs filled with salty water. Mideasterners commonly used the left hand, which is supposedly still considered unclean in the Arabian region.
"Official" toilet paper - that is, paper which was produced specifically for the purpose - dates back at least to the late 14th Century, when Chinese emperors ordered it in 2-foot x 3-foot sheets.
Corncobs and pages torn from newspapers and magazines were commonly used in the early American West. The Sears catalogue was well-known in this context, and even produced such humorous spinoffs as the "Rears and Sorebutt" catalogue. The Farmer's Almanac had a hole in it so it could be hung on a hook and the pages torn off easily.
Joseph C. Gayetty of New York started producing the first packaged toilet paper in the U.S. in 1857. It consisted of pre-moistened flat sheets medicated with aloe and was named "Gayetty’s Medicated Paper". Gayetty's name was printed on every sheet.
Rolled and perforated toilet paper as we're familiar with today was invented around 1880. Various sources attribute it to the Albany Perforated Wrapping (A.P.W.) Paper Company in 1877, and to the Scott Paper company in 1879 or 1890. On a side note, the Scott Company was too embarrassed to put their name on their product, as the concept of toilet paper was a sensitive subject at the time, so they customized it for their customers... hence the Waldorf Hotel became a big name in toilet paper.

Answer 3

People used rags , then they wash them . Same with women on there periods , hence the term "on the rag" . Also they would dig a very deep hole , and poopys in it . Like an out house . Never in the rivers or lakes , back then they didnt have running water or water bottles , cant contaminate the drinking water . So they used rags and leaves .

Answer 4

Sponges, grass, corn cobs, Sears catalog or any handy paper, nice smooth rock or some handy tree, preferably smooth and insect free.

Answer 5

In days of old
When knights were bold
And paper wasn't invented
They wiped their a***
On a blade of grass
And went away contented.

Answer 6

yup and probably had a crusty butt hole i have no idea lol

Answer 7

the Sears catalog.