You may have heard some people said that they could not live without toilet paper (or some people call it “toilet rolls”).
Do you believe me if I say that we don't need toilet paper at all in toilets?
You may find it very difficult to believe.
But let me just tell you a story about a friend of mine named Danial and his landlord, Jack.
Danial was an Asian student studying Accountancy in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Illinois while Jack was an American.
Danial rented a room in the basement of a house owned by Jack in Champaign. The room was a bit unique as the kitchen, bathroom and toilet were not inside the room but instead, they were right outside of it. That enables Jack to do his regular checking of the kitchen, bathroom and toilet as Danial locked only his room when he was not around.
There was something that made Jack surprised and curious whenever he checked the toilet. He noted that there was no toilet paper in it every time he checked. Not even one piece!
He did not think that Danial kept toilet paper in his room as the tenant did not share the toilet with any other tenants in the house. He wondered how Danial cleaned himself or to say it straight forward, cleaned his buttock after doing the normal stuff people do in toilets.
One day, Jack met Danial by chance when he was checking the kitchen.
After greeting each other, Jack suddenly asked, “Danial, why is there no toilet paper every time I checked the toilet?”
“I don't need to use it actually,” replied Danial.
“Then how do you clean yourself in the toilet?” asked Jack.
“I just use water and my bare left hand,” said Danial.
Jack was shocked with the answer and then asked, “I hope you don't mind me asking but isn't that disgusting to use your bare hand to clean?”
Danial felt a bit embarrassed by that question but he managed to keep his cool. He then replied by asking Jack a question.
“Jack, let me just ask you this. If you got some mud on your hand or on any other part of your body, is it enough for you to clean it only by wiping it off using some pieces of paper?”
“Or, would you prefer to use some water and clean the mud off using your bare hand? I am sure you feel more comfortable to use water as it will clean the mud off much better”
Jack was, once again, shocked. Feeling ashamed, he did not really answer the question but instead, he right away said to Danial that he did sometimes clean himself using water and his bare hand in the toilet.
Danial smiled as he knew that Jack was not telling the truth. However, he just nodded and didn't say anything more as he didn't want to further embarrass Jack.
Well, guys. Did you see the logic for not needing to use toilet paper in toilets? Do you feel disgusted when you heard some people clean themselves in toilets using just water and their bare hand?
Don't be surprised when you travel to other parts of the world, especially to most part of Asia, and you find out that there is no toilet paper in most public toilets there but instead, you only have a water tap and a short tube.
Don't worry guys. Toilets at their hotels, especially those graded with more stars, do have toilet paper for their customers who come from different culture.
The main point here is that we should realize that some people have their own way to keep their personal hygiene. In fact, their way may make some other people to re-think of their own way.
So guys do you really need toilet paper in toilets or are you more comfortable with Danial's way of personal cleaning which seems to me to be more hygienic? You may even have your own different way of personal hygiene in toilets! Feel free to let me know of your thoughts.
