Right about now, I’m guessing you’re wondering what the heck toilet paper has to do with a young adult fantasy book. Well, since I’m trying to be realistic, and I’m visiting other countries, I learned that most of the world DOES NOT use toilet paper – the current estimate is about 70-75%! So here are some fun toilet paper facts to give you some perspective.
Quite frankly, there were only two times I ever used to think about toilet paper before I began this writing journey. The most important times were making sure I always had toilet paper in the bathrooms at home. I always keep an extra package in each bathroom and carry some out into the woods. The other time was when I first started working at Procter and Gamble in the Paper Division, which included diapers (a lot more interesting product than you might think), tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper (the machines are huge and complex).
In the U.S., we tend to take a lot for granted, but things have changed in the last few decades. Just think about it. How many times have you been in situations without running water? When I was a kid, none of the National Forests we ever camped in had flushing toilets. When I was in the Army, we never had bathrooms with running water out in the field. I’ve also been in multiple countries where toilets were holes in the floor that you squatted over. And on every continent I’ve visited, I’ve seen people taking potty breaks by the side of the road.
My worst experience was on a missile site in Korea in 1979-80. Our water pipes to the site froze one winter, and we had to have water hauled up to us – it didn’t always happen. It wasn’t very fun for a couple of months because you couldn’t just leave the hill, where our missiles were, to go to the bathroom. But things change. When I went back a few years ago for my daughter’s wedding, my hotel room had the most advanced toilet I’ve ever seen in my life. There was a remote control, which I never learned how to use, to manage all the toilet functions!
But it wasn’t until I went on my first research trip with my daughter that I learned that most of the world doesn’t even use it. And many of those countries that have toilet paper don’t allow flushing toilet paper. But you quickly adapt, and it becomes part of the fun of discovery – experiencing different cultures and not taking what you have for granted. So nowadays, whenever I’m traveling abroad, I always have a day pack with water, snacks, a jacket, gloves, and toilet paper. You never know when you’re going to need these items.
May you have the joy of discovery on your travels.
The picture below shows the main tourist area at Lamanai – where I first learned about the toilet paper issue. The dining shelter is in the foreground, shops are behind it, and the museum/bathrooms are in the back center. As you can see, it’s nothing fancy, but we had a great time there. Although they had running water, the bathrooms asked visitors not to dispose of toilet paper in the toilets. Instead, you throw them into a waste can beside the toilet.
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