Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Am I the only one?

Is it just me or have you ever noticed that people act a little odd when it comes to purchasing or discussing toilet paper? I admit that I’m one of the strange ones, but for some reason I notice that people always seem to try to hide the fact that they’re carrying a great honking plastic wrapped 24 pack of private parts tissue to the till.

We were out shopping at the local everything emporium a while back and there was a good sale on the mighty rolls of tiny squares. One must always buy in bulk when specialized bathroom items are on sale. And while standing in the line up for the till I noticed that the lady behind me was purchasing a different brand, so I commented.

“Do you like that brand X of T.P.?” I said.


“Why yes we do. I don’t like Brand Q because the rolls look like they have such little substance to them.” She replied quite brightly.

“Well,” I said “the rolls that you have with brand X there certainly are larger … bulkier. But is it soft?”

This is where the woman became a little less responsive to my inquiries. She nodded gamely ‘yes’ with slight apprehension and I pushed on.

“How much do you go through in a day?” I asked, as I mentally did a tally of the approximate – one roll per day – in my head for our household of two.


But I could tell that I had treaded into the forbidden zone, and she no longer wanted to talk about such private matters.


What’s the deal with that? Everyone goes to the bathroom. Everyone uses bathroom tissue. Maybe men use a little less, but that’s based on a simple technicality. If I could stand up and pee and jiggle I probably would use less T.P. too!

Why are we so embarrassed about something that everyone does, and there ain’t nothin’ you can do about it.


Nuff’ said. What’s your take on buying bathroom tissue? What’s your taboo topic?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was so funny! I have to admit, that's a conversation I can see myself having. For the record, we use Northern double-sized rolls! I'm not sure when I started buying them, but that's all I buy now. The paper is soft enough to blow your nose if you're out of tissue and the rolls last long enough to make me feel like I'm getting a bargain!

Jungle Pop said...

Asking about someone's TP preference is fine, but in my book asking about someone's TP usage is taboo. Maybe this was a single woman; would she really want to tell you how much TP she used in one day?

I think it's hilarious that you asked her, and I wish I had been there to see the interaction. Just as long as I'm not the one being asked! :^)