| DirtyDreamer |
06-18-2008 11:54 AM |
From Toilet paper:
"Although paper had been known as a wrapping and padding material in China since the 2nd century BC,[1] the first use of toilet paper in human history dates back to the 6th century AD, in early medieval China."
and
"The Scott Brothers are often cited as being the first to sell rolled and perforated toilet paper, but unless they were doing so without a patent, the beginning of toilet paper and dispensers familiar in the 21st century is with Seth Wheeler of Albany, NY, who obtained several patents. The first of note is for the idea of perforating commercial papers (25 July 1871, #117355), the application for which includes and illustration of a perforated roll of paper. On 13 February 1883 he was granted patent #272369, which presented a roll of perforated wrapping or toilet paper supported in the center with a tube. Wheeler also had patents for mounted brackets that held the rolls. Under the name Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Co., the product was manufactured as early as 1886 at their factory just north of downtown Albany."
Timeline:
589 AD: the first mentioning of toilet paper in China.
1888: The phrase "toilet paper" first appears in the New York Times. |
