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America has never embraced bidets. The toilet paper shortage could change that (Vox)

Why Americans have long been reluctant to adopt bidets, and why they shouldn’t be.

The best item I’ve ever bought for my home is a machine that shoots warm water at my bare butt.

Its formal name is the Toto Washlet, a realization of a vision first set forth by fancy Japanese toilet manufacturer Toto and Toto president Kazuchika Okura in 1917. Okura’s original dream was a future of cleaner living and a more pleasant bathroom experience. The first Washlet came out in 1980. Today, not only does the Toto have a heated water feature, it also heats its seat, dries your butt, and deodorizes the toilet bowl, too. Some models even have more features like playing music to hide the sounds of defecation.

Standalone bidets and bidet attachments like the Toto aren’t by any means new. Bidets appear to have been invented in the late 17th century; in the 18th century, Marie Antoinette apparently owned a bidet trimmed in red. These days, bidets and bidet attachments are common throughout the world from Europe to Asia. Bidets have been touted to be more sanitary than toilet paper alone and more sustainable since people don’t have to use as much toilet paper to clean themselves…

To read the entire article from Vox, click https://www.vox.com/2020/4/14/21218467/bidets-toilet-paper-shortage-tushy-toto-washlet