OVER 100 CURIOUS QUESTIONS AND INTRIGUING ANSWERS.
BY: ANDREW THOMPSON
1.) WHEN WAS TOILET PAPER INVENTED AND WHAT WAS USED BEFORE THEN?
The Chinese invented toilet paper in the fourteenth century,
and the Bureau of Imperial Supplies began to produce paper
for use by the Chinese emperors. However, it wasn’t until
1857 that the first factory-produced toilet paper was made,
by American Joseph Cayetty, who named his product “Therapeutic
Paper” and sold it in packs of 500 sheets. Cayetty’s
name was printed on each sheet.
Before the invention of toilet paper, different areas of the
world used many different things. Public toilets in ancient
Rome provided a moist sponge on the end of a stick, while
the wealthy used wool and rosewater. In Viking-occupied
England, discarded wool was used, while in the Middle Ages
this had been replaced by hay balls.
In Hawaii, meanwhile, coconut husks were used, while
the early Eskimos used snow and tundra moss. Wealthy
people around the world often used hemp and wool, with
lace being used by the French royalty British lords used
pages from books.
Poorer people used their hands, grass, stones, moss,
seashells or wood shavings, while the use of water was also
common around the world. In India, the left hand was used
to wash with, while in Africa it was the right hand. The other
hand in each place was used to greet people, and it was considered
rude to offer the incorrect hand.
In the U.S., newspapers and telephone directories were
commonly used, as were other books. The Old Farmer’s
Almanac was actually printed with a hole punched through
the corner of each page so that it could be hung in outhouses,
and the Sears catalogue was widely used until it was
produced with glossy pages, after which its use as a hygiene
product became unpopular. Corncobs were also used in the
United States.
[Up until now, some countries around the world do not use toilet papers.]
2.) DID ROBIN HOOD ACTUALLY EXIST?
The story of Robin Hood has been popularized in numerous
books and films over the years. Legend has it that Robin
was deprived of his lands by the sheriff of Nottingham and
forced to take refuge in Sherwood Forest, where he became
an outlaw, banding with a group of Merry Men, falling in
love with a maid named Marian, and stealing from the rich
to give to the poor. For many years, people have questioned
whether this Good Samaritan really did exist.
The first literary reference to Robin Hood appeared in
1377, where he is portrayed as a common bandit, and there
are printed versions of ballads on the subject from the early
sixteenth century in which he is portrayed as a farmer or
tradesman. In later accounts, it is said that Robin was a nobleman
from the late twelfth century, during the time when
Richard the Lionheart was fighting the Crusades. However,
one of the original ballads has it that he lived during the
reign of Edward II. While some of the early ballads do refer
to the sheriff of Nottingham and some of the Merry Men,
no mention is made of Maid Marian, who is thought to have
been added in later versions of the story.
The British Museum keeps an account of Robin’s life,
which holds that he was born in 1160 in Lockersley, Yorkshire,
although this place doesn’t exist. Another account,
however, has it that he was from Wakefield in the fourteenth
century. A tourist attraction in Nottinghamshire is a tree
known as the Major Oak, which is said to have been where
Robin Hood lived, although this claim has been disputed by
some who allege that the tree isn’t old enough.
[In modern versions of the legend, Robin Hood is said to have taken up residence in the verdant Sherwood Forest in the county of Nottinghamshire. Sherwood attracts 500,000 tourists annually, including many from around the world. Visitor numbers have increased significantly since the launch of the BBC's Robin Hood television series in 2006.]
