Troubles caused by harsh toilet tissue

We've posted before about the idea of "toilet tissue illness" that Scott Tissues invented and then advertised heavily around 1930. The idea being that if you used the wrong toilet paper (anything not made by Scott Tissues) you might end up a bed-bound invalid. Here's another example of that campaign.

Good Housekeeping - May 1930

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 21, 2025
Category: Health | Hygiene | Excrement | Advertising

Comments

Laugh all you want, but toilet tissue irritation is a real thing. All it takes is some gastrointestinal disease that makes you poop around five times a day and/or pee every fifteen minutes, and you'll be shopping for a bidet. Radiation for colon cancer, especially, makes your tushie red as a babboon's, and you have to wear hospital underwear to retain the gauze that keeps your antibiotic cream from gumming your pants. If you suffer from toilet tissue irritation, even Scott toilet paper can't save you.

Posted by Yudith on 03/21/25 at 06:17 AM

I don't know about TP in the 30s, but the cheap paper the teachers passed out in kindergarten and the lower grades for art projects in the 50s could give you splinters.

Posted by eddi on 03/23/25 at 04:02 AM