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Q: TP: A musing
Surgeon general's warning: Do not read during or after a meal.
Every toilet cubicle in China seems to have its own wastepaper basket for used toilet paper.
Besides the obvious health hazard of spreading germs in the air, I noticed one other thing:
Nobody ever runs out of toilet paper, even when toilet paper has run out!
Do locals have ironclad sphincters and bathroom planning skills (i.e. holding it in until they have access to paper), or is it a case of hardcore recycling to save face?
9 years 13 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
The basket for toilet paper in the toilets : I saw that in Vietnam, Cambodia, I was told it was like that in India. It's not specific to China. I often read that the plumbing and water processing would not be able to handle the toilet paper.
Germs : Not sure about the germs problem. I know some germs are transmitted through feces, so that's definitely plausible.
Nobody runs out of toilet paper : I learn very quickly to have toilet paper with me. My wife always have tissue. I always got a roll in my office. Got tissues in my work bag. I always travel with a roll. My Dad, who traveled a lot, told me to always bring toilet paper with me, it's the kind of thing you regret to not have. You learn and adapt...
Why it's like this : a mix of habit, poor/cheap plumbage, and not knowing better. In deep countryside, toilet paper is thrown around the toilet instead of inside a basket.
coineineagh:
i wasn't expecting a serious answer, but kudos for it. my stool blocks the plumbing every time, wastebasket or not.
DrMonkey:
I know ! Half of the time, I block the toilets too, and I don't even weight 70kg. Foreigner body is different.
Eorthisio:
As long you don't touch that shit with your mouth you won't get ebola, so I guess it's okay. If you ever happen to get it simply drink hot water, approved by TCM since 3000BC.
Only idiots run out of paper. I always carried it with me.
coineineagh:
most people would have room for a miniature packet of handkerchiefs at best, in their fashion outfits. at home, work or restaurant, there is an abundant supply of paper. yet i see people going into cubicles without paper, and not coming out for needed paper… it begs the question.
CharlieB:
Speaking of questions, how do blind people know when they are done wiping? 
dongbeiren:
Lol Charlie, maybe a seeing-eye dog can use its sense of smell to assist?
8 years and ive still never brought tissue anywhere with me. I only go in western toilets that have tissue. I have trained my body so thoroughly that i dont even feel the need for a washroom untill the second i get home. Then the race is on.
dongbeiren:
Training your body to be regular is definitely a wise way to go. I've tried my best in that department but depending what I ate the night before these things can be unpredictable. You only find western toilets with TP? Even in Shenzhen you must be pretty selective about where you go. From my experience most places assume you are a TP thief and they're probably right in most cases. I had a major let down in my gym - there are nice western toilets but no TP. I mean seriously? Who carries TP with them to the gym? You'd think the gym membership would entitle you to a little paper.
mike695ca:
Yup im pretty much limited to starbucks or a fancy mall. These are the only places that are sure to have it. The worst is when you think your free, and your body is like " yeah! Here we go!" Then you get inside the washroom and find no paper. Kills my stomach but i must soldier on. Luckily my factory built a private bathroom for me last year, and im the only one with a key so the Chinese cant destroy it! But by that time i was already trained. Used it maybe 4 times in the last year. Emergencies only.
mike695ca:
Not like that no. My backpacking days are done. When i travel i prefer to go abroad and leave this cursed land. Any domestic travel is along the lines of 3 day trips to different cities in 5 star hotels. Dalian, Shanghai, Beijing, HK, Macau Chongqing. Things like that. I saw enough farmland when i first got here. Im cool.
Nessquick:
yeah, i have similar skills. once I open the door, I am so happy to see my family, and also release some gases, which I have to hold during the transportation :d
Nessquick:
dongbeiren: you did not master the use of membership card for those purposes :D
@dongbeiren: yeah, i'm also susceptible to the dodgy-food-intestinal-massacre. some things cannot be held in for long.
I've seen Chinese people just take a small handful of paper into the bathroom to do their business. It makes me wonder just how thoroughly they wipe down there with such little paper.
CharlieB:
That little paper is not for wiping their bottom, its for wiping their hand when they are done.
