Wiped: The Curious History of Toilet Paper

Black & White EditionHow did people clean their rear ends before the invention of paper? The ancient Greeks used stones Really This rear-window view of the history of the world also details how the kings and queens of England and France wiped their royal asses? Not like you and I. What does Judaism, Islam and Buddhism have to say about this act? Surprisingly a lot. How did an ass-kisser -- that is, man who actually kissed his patron's ass -- almost become Pope. Who is the real father of toilet paper? You won't find the answer on the Internet. Why do most people in the world think that wiping with paper is disgusting? Is there a better way? This is the first book to present a fully-documented history of the act that every human being has done every day since the beginning of time.

Ronald Blumer has written/produced/or co-produced over eighty documentary films, including three series with Bill Moyers, CREATIVITY, A WALK THROUGH THE TWENTIETH CENTURY & THE U.S. CONSTITUTION. For PBS, he has written & co-produced the six-part series, LIBERTY! THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, a three-part miniseries on the life of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, & AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY, A CENTURY OF IMAGES, & he co-wrote an episode of Ric Burns’ NEW YORK and a program about the 1929 stock market crash for THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. His script for the National Film Board’s PAPERLAND, THE BUREAUCRAT OBSERVED won the Canadian Film Academy’s award for best non-fiction script. The PBS two- hour program on the life of Alexander Hamilton was nominated for a Writer’s Guild Award in 2008, as was DOLLEY MADISON in 201l. His work has received thirty major awards including four EMMY awards & a George Foster Peabody.