Apr 12 2025 - Toilet Paper

 

It just occurred to me.  Why don't we have coloured toilets paper?  Particularly, black would be good.  And the same with tissue paper and paper towels?  Why are they white?  Is it the sense of hygiene and cleanliness that comes with white?  And is it so compelling so that it dominates the product?  We do seem to buy whatever is marketed to us, given yesterday's post on odd products. So I wonder that we haven't transitioned to other colours.  And specifically, to black toilet paper.  I can find it online - and here's the proof of pictures below. The question was asked on housedigest.com - is there a purpose behind black toilet paper? Here is what the article says: "Black toilet paper isn't measured by normal toilet paper expectations, like ply count or those cute little patterns we all know and love (a special shoutout to Charmin's new Smooth Tear toilet paper). Made from 100% virgin pulp and dermatologist-tested dyed pigments, this is simply a high-end fashion accessory all about surprising your guests." And, of course, this aspect: "Where's the tell-tell sign that you're done wiping? "Black toilet paper has what we might call a diminished diagnostic function," Schoeber said. "I just wipe a little extra when using black toilet paper, just in case." If you're a looker, this one may not be for you. And if you want to protect the planet, it may not be for you either."

The case for facial tissue being white is hygiene and cleanliness, like toilet paper.  The bleaching process for all these products makes the products softer, and improves their quality.  Coloured toilet paper existed in the 1950s but there were concerns about the safety of pastel dyes for the skin and the environment.  But the preference in North America has gone back to white.  Supposedly in South America and Europe, toilet paper comes in a rainbow of colours.  But I went on to Amazon.fr and with the search black toilet paper, one gets, black, orange, blue, yellow, green and red.  They are all vivid colours - fluorescent. Really unpleasant.

Today we have a lounging chicken - Easter egg alert!   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

April 26 - Treasured Memories in our Times

I had a dream last night in which a family with young children were in the grocery store and each was  allowed to buy a package of toilet paper.  They hugged their cuddly treasures, and laughed and ran to the checkout counter. Will this be a treasured childhood memory some day?  According to a survey, these are the top 10 most common first childhood memories: Trip to the dentist Birthday party Vacation First day of school Trip to the doctor Being outside An accident or injury A tooth falling out We can get the happiest memories from The Express - the beach accounts for almost 3/4 of happy memories.  Here are some more: Family holidays  Hide and seek Collecting shells on the beach Hop scotch Sports days Watching children's TV Fish and chips Pic n mix sweets Playground games  Pencil cases Climbing trees Egg and spoon race Collecting toys/ cards/ collectibles etc. Ice creams from the ice cream van Playing outside until it was dark Given these times, we might return to some of these activities and still enjoy ourselves. We'll have to figure out some of the activities with social distancing. Our picture today is a leaf abstract.

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April 18 2020 - Making Toilet Paper

We know that toilet paper is not going to drift into the background.  A top CTV story online this morning is that the Forest Products Association of Canada says the demand for toilet paper has increased by 241 per cent during the pandemic.  But the sawmills across the country that produce the wood chips needed to make pulp have closed down due to the pandemic. Amazon toilet paper from China won't arrive any time soon, according to the Los Angeles Times. ABC News explains the shortages of toilet paper by describing the supply chain:  toilet paper is bulky and not very profitable, so retailers don't keep a lot of inventory.  They get frequent shipments and restock shelves.  The Independent has a section on toilet paper now with late breaking news:  Water firms issue blockage warning for toilet paper 'alternatives', and Trump boards Air Force One with 'toilet paper' stuck to his shoe (that was from 2018, but the Independent considers it current news).  Ryerson University made the news with a two-tier system of toilet paper - staff get the two-ply of course. Here's the story - it is from 2015. So you can expect to see instructions on how to make toilet paper.  Caroline Baldwin seems to have covered this in 2017.  The instructions are HERE. They involve newspaper, a bucket of water, a large pot on the stove, rolling pins, and more. I was entertained by some of the images of toilet paper that accompany this current frenzy.  Here are two of them. And our picture today comes from the Salt Spring Island farmers market September 2019.  Won't we be growing our Victory Gardens this summer.  That's a trending garden topic now.

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Mar 18 - Roll with the Punches

A boxer moving one's body away from an opponent's blows so as to lessen the impact.  Adapt oneself to adverse circumstances.  That was the definition a few weeks ago.  Now I see a toilet roll standing for our resistance to the coronavirus.  The more we have, the safer we are. The articles tell me we have a fear of missing out - known as FOMO.  The definition includes:  "often aroused by posts seen on a social media website."  It is also commonly associated with bucket list pressure.  The combination in travel is known as FOMOtravel. There is JOMO - the joy of missing out.  There's advice on how to turn FOMO into JOMO.   All of these articles are all targeted to the under-25 generation. So what are the explanations on the toilet paper trail?  It didn't look like 25 year-olds in the grocery line-ups.  Could FOMO be contagious? According to Psychology Today, this is a type of herding instinct and falls within the area of mob theory where the mob takes on a life and personality of its own, separate and distinct from individuals within it. Psychology Today weighed in on March 8th with behavioural economics and the tulip bubble:   So what does behavioural economics and finance tell us about why someone would rush to spend excessive amounts on what is ordinarily a trivial item? The behavioural literature on speculative bubbles provides some potential explanations. One of the more colourful examples of a speculative bubble is Tulipmania: for a brief period in  1637,  speculators got very excited about tulip bulbs. At the height of Tulipmania, one of the most prized bulbs, the exotic Semper Augustus, sold for around 1,000 florins — enough money to buy a smart townhouse, a small fleet of battleships or a drove of 3,000 pigs. Tulipmania is often cited as a classic example of extreme irrationality, but someone believing that they had a good chance of selling a tulip bulb for $1.1m, would not be stupid to buy it for $1m.   This theory is dismissed, as most people are hoarding and not reselling.  They decided it is the herding instinct and mob behaviour. We've moved FOMO to the stock market and the drops are being called FOCO - fear of the coronavirus outbreak. All age groups are getting acquainted with FOMO as the days progress.  I guess it is contagious. Longwood Gardens is closed, so the wisteria will have to be appreciated from previous years.  I look at this as a variation of FOMO.  I think of this one as Regret of missing out - ROMO.

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