I was sceptical. Who would wax toilet paper? Why? Wax paper at the store is more expensive than regular paper, and waxing sure wouldn't make it more effective. But a lot of others chimed in confirming things. And I don't think it was a standard Kiwi wind-up either.We had waxed toilet paper in the 1970s. It didn't wipe, just smeared it around.— Will de Cleene (@ZippyGonzales) May 8, 2017
@ZippyGonzales @EricCrampton It was astounding. However you could purchase 'normal' paper in shops, so didn't understand why schools had to have the waxy stuff.— Conan Gorbey (@arnie03) May 8, 2017
@ZippyGonzales It's ok. I'm remembering now. It wax in boxes. And it lasted well into the 80s. Was at Ak uni when I was there.— Rob Hosking (@robhosking) May 8, 2017
@EricCrampton @ZippyGonzales I don't know if it was waxed or not, but it was about as absorbent as a toenail.— Rob Hosking (@robhosking) May 8, 2017
Hey Twitter, I need some corroboration. Anyone went to school in the 1970s and experienced waxed toilet paper?— Will de Cleene (@ZippyGonzales) May 8, 2017
@EricCrampton @ZippyGonzales Nope. Brown, shiny water repellent toilet paper was the order of the day at schools in the 70s— DairyMan™ (@dairymanNZ) May 8, 2017
@EricCrampton As a member of the University of Auckland students assn execuitve I tried for 18 months in 72/73 to get rid of it. And failed.— Ross Marks (@ross_marks) May 8, 2017
And Google Books found me this. Looks like it's a UK import.@EricCrampton I recall Fair Go had a manufacturer explaining the best way to use them: you rub two sheets together to provide the roughness for asswork— Peter Metcalfe (@metcalph) May 8, 2017
So, better paper existed. But it wasn't purchased for use at public facilities because the UK, and NZ, were a lot poorer than they are now. Somehow, waxed paper was cheaper even if almost useless, and it was purchased because of the cost.
These kinds of quality improvements don't make it into the productivity statistics but they matter.
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