Every Day Is Special: TP

Showing posts with label TP. Show all posts

August 26 – National Toilet Paper Day

Posted on August 26, 2015

According to Quilted Northern Toilet Paper, August 26, 1871, was the first time that toilet paper was ever sold on a roll.

That explains why today is National Toilet Paper Day, but how do people celebrate National Toilet Paper Day?

Well, the best way is to really sit around and consider how much less comfortable life would be if there were no such thing as toilet paper. Obviously, a lot of people lived a lot of days before this date in 1871 – what did they use or do? Is toilet paper in other countries as soft as Charmin or Quilted Northern?

So, enjoy your plentiful, soft toilet paper – don't take it for granted!

Here are some other ways to celebrate the day:

Of course, sometimes toilet paper companies celebrate their special day in a special way. For example, in 2011 Charmin set a new world's record for World's Largest Toilet Roll. The record-setting roll was 8 feet high and 9 feet wide. It contained over one MILLION square feet of paper! A manager at the P&G Paper Products Company said that it would take about 95 thousand rolls of toilet paper to equal that amount of paper!

Some crafty people like to create things out of toilet paper. For example, here is a toilet paper wedding dress crafted by Judith Henry.

TP something!

(Note: Toilet papering houses, cars, and so on can be against the law. Make sure you have permission of the owner of said house or car. Also, be sure to clean up the TP yourself; don't contribute to a blown litter problem.

For ideas of beautiful TPing, check out this earlier post. )

I guess that some hosts make their toilet paper pretty before guests come. (I guess that some hosts have too much time on their hands.)

Use some of those cardboard rolls that toilet paper comes on in some crafty or artistic way.

Did you know...?

The hottest controversy in toilet paper is whether to hang rolls with sheets going over or under the roll. I'm firmly in the “over” camp – and according to ABC News, 72 percent of Americans agree.

According to The Toilet Paper Encyclopedia, more than half of men surveyed either folded or stacked toilet paper before use, and more than half of women surveyed grabbed and wadded TP before use. It basically evens out, with almost half of us folding and half of us wadding. The remaining 20% are a mystery – most of them claim to do both, depending!

I read in one source that there was a rumor
that German people generally fold TP, while
American generally crumple it. (Of course,
crumpling and wadding are the same thing, when
it comes to toilet paper.) But there didn't seem
to be any evidence to back the claim!

Some other ways to use toilet paper is to wipe noses and eyeglasses (but not with the same squares, please!), to cover toilet seats, to remove makeup, and to keep fragile items safe when storing or shipping. And of course to TP houses and cars and brides!

Also on this date:

Mathematician Johann Heinrich Lambert's birthday

National Dog Day

Heroes' Day in Namibia

Women's Equality Day here...

...and here

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

September holidays
September birthdays
Historical anniversaries in September

October 30 – Mischief Night

Posted on October 30, 2014

This is not something that happens everywhere, and I am pretty sure that it is something that shouldn't happen ANYwhere.

Mischief Night is the night before Halloween, and it is (in just some places in the U.S. and world) a time for minor pranks and mild vandalism.

We're talking about toilet papering yards, egging things, setting off fireworks, smashing pumpkins, throwing rotting vegetables, soaping windows, and playing Ding-Dong Ditch by ringing doorbells and then hiding.

Some of these practices are not particularly bothersome or dangerous, but others are pretty bad. In Detroit in the early 1990s, Mischief Night escalated into widespread arson (setting fires) – destruction that was completely unnecessary.

Egging a car or building can cause costly damage (raw egg can damage a car's finish, for example), and egging a person can cause serious eye injury. Smashing someone else's property – even if it is just a pumpkin – is like stealing from them. Maybe that person put a lot of time into carving the pumpkin. Maybe he or she wanted to make a pumpkin pie.

Of course, many of these so-called pranks are strictly against the law! Silly mischief that could result in fines or jail time seems ridiculous, right?

Finally, I find the idea of causing problems for homeowners one night and then begging from candy from the same people the next night troublesome. I would hope that Mischief Night takes a turn for beautiful-and-non-harmful pranks or dies out altogether.

Beautiful and non-harmful pranks?

Even in places where toilet papering is against the law, or police officers nab those who TP trees and houses on grounds of littering, TP-ing can be lots of fun and is (at least here in my community) totally okay if the homeowner has given approval. So ask the parents of the kid you want to surprise (secretly, ahead of time), and then have fun fun fun – in the dead of the night - decking out the place with loads of toilet paper!