The rumor is going around that y’all can’t get enough toilet paper, so here is a look at toilet paper history for you.
 
Part I
 
The first thing specifically marketed for your butt was Gayetty’s manila hemp sheets infused with aloe vera. The sheets popped up from a flat Kleenex-like box. Each sheet was printed with Gayetty’s name, as he was uber convinced that it would prevent hemorrhoids and you would want to know who to thank. This was 1857.
 
As people got Sears catalogues for free, and were happy to wipe their bottoms with pages pulled from said absolutely free and thick catalogue, Gayetty’s fancy sheets did not sell well. (Probably why someone still had boxes of them to photograph for Google images.)