As people age, they often start saying that something used to be better than it is now — ice cream is tastier, sausage is cheaper, trees are taller, and the grass on the wallpaper is greener. Usually, this is simply attributed to changes in the perception of the surrounding world. In youth, a person experiences emotions more vividly, and in general, perhaps, evaluates the surrounding world more positively. However, often the opinion that something used to be better is quite objective and is not associated with “memory distortions”. As an example, we can cite toilet paper rolls — perhaps you yourself have even noticed that they have become smaller than they used to be. And the most interesting thing is that they talk about reducing the size of the rolls not only in Russia, but also in many other countries, including the USA.
Many people have noticed that toilet paper rolls have become smaller lately. Photo source: ru.pngtree.com
Who Invented Toilet Paper
The first mentions of paper for sanitary and hygienic purposes were found in China and date back to the 4th century AD. However, ancient paper bore little resemblance to modern paper and was only available in the imperial palace.
More modern toilet paper, available to a wide range of consumers, appeared only in the mid-19th century, namely in 1857. It was invented by New York businessman Joseph Gayetty. True, it was not sold in rolls, but in packs, cut into square sheets. By the way, the entrepreneur was so proud of his invention that he wrote his name on each sheet. But at least he didn’t print his photo, and thank you for that.
The first toilet paper was produced in packs, not rolls. Photo source: dzen.ru
Roll paper with a perforated line for tearing was released only in 1877 by the Seth Wheeler company. By the way, initially in 1871 the same company patented paper in rolls with a perforated line as packaging, but after some time the idea was also used to produce toilet paper.
A few years later the company improved its invention, and in 1883 toilet paper with perforation in a roll, with a central cardboard core, went on sale. Around the same time, toilet paper began to appear in other Western countries.
What did people use before toilet paper? As you might guess – printing paper, that is, newspapers, advertising catalogues, etc. Some printed products were even produced with a special hole to make it convenient to hang on a nail in the toilet.
Until 1969, only sheet toilet paper was produced in the USSR. Photo source: kulturologia.ru
Did toilet paper exist in the USSR
In pre-revolutionary Russia, toilet paper was not in great demand. It is known that from 1910 to 1912 it was produced only in the St. Petersburg province. No more than 120 thousand packs were produced per year. But, according to other sources, in 1912 paper production reached 137.4 thousand poods per year, which is almost 3 tons.
After the revolution and until 1937, toilet paper was not produced in the USSR at all, but it was imported from other countries. Presumably, in 1939, its own production was established, and the plans for the fourth five-year plan (1946-1950) included the opening of several enterprises for the production of toilet paper.
As in pre-revolutionary Russia, in the USSR, toilet paper was produced in packs for a long time and was not in great demand. It began to gain popularity only in the 60s, when the construction of multi-story buildings began throughout the country and the urban population began to increase rapidly.
Rolled toilet paper remained in short supply in the USSR. Photo source: von-hoffmann.livejournal.com
In 1969, the first factory for the mass production of toilet paper in rolls opened in the USSR. It became even more widespread in the second half of the 1980s, as production was launched at the Syktyvkar LPK, the Naberezhnye Chelny Cardboard and Paper Mill, and at the plant in Kondrovo. However, despite this, toilet paper production still could not keep up with the rapidly growing demand, resulting in a shortage.
Toilet paper has shrunk in size
The reduction in toilet paper rolls is due to a phenomenon called “shrink inflation.” This is a popular strategy among many companies that allows them to increase profits without changing the prices of the final product. You may have noticed that recently the volume of milk cartons, sour cream cups, and packages of other various products has decreased. Since the reduction is insignificant, customers often do not even notice it.
Unfortunately, toilet paper is no exception. However, the reduction is due not only to the desire to make more profit, but also to a more careful attitude towards the environment, since the raw material for paper is wood.
As mentioned above, the roll reduction affected all countries. For example, The Hustle reports that in the 1970s in the US, a typical roll of toilet paper from Charmin contained 650 sheets. By 1975, it had shrunk to 500 sheets, and then to 400 sheets in 1979. But the manufacturer did not stop there.
Toilet paper is “losing weight” and shrinking due to “heat-shrink inflation”. Photo source: inbusiness.kz
By 1986, the number of sheets per roll had decreased to 380. In 1988, rolls with a paper volume of both 300 and 280 sheets were available for sale. In addition, their size has also decreased since the 1960s. If in 1966 one side of a square sheet was 11.43 centimeters, then today the sheet has a size of 9.96 by 10.16 cm. The same thing happened with rolls from other manufacturers.
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Of course, in the USSR in the 70s and 80s, no one knew about shrink inflation. However, later, toilet paper manufacturers also began to reduce the size of the rolls. Therefore, if you noticed that the paper in the toilet began to end too quickly, most likely, you were not imagining things.