This is the hidden history of an invention that we use every day but seldom dare to speak of. In medieval China it was cutting-edge technology. For 19th-century Americans it was a newfangled alternative to dried corncobs and the Sears & Roebuck catalogue. Wits in Georgian London preferred pages of bad poetry. The sages of ancient Athens were content to wield the xylospongion instead. Its the tale of toilet paper; the biography of bumfodder. From its origins at the Imperial court of Emperor Hongwu to its reinvention as a quack remedy for haemorrhoids in 1870s New York city; from the Dutch and their mussel-shells to Henry VIII and his Groom of the Stool; from Madame de Pries pioneering bidet to the space-age Washlet; from leaf-wielding chimpanzees to Mr Thirsty Fiber and the worlds first three-adjective loo-roll - its a story of necessity and invention; luxury and squalor; experiment and tradition. What does a submarine crew do when it runs out of toilet paper? Who stole the Popes loo-roll? Does printers ink cause piles? How do you fold a sheet of toilet paper in half more than seven times? What did bumphleteers do; and why? Richard Smyth answers the questions you never thought to ask about the product we cant live without.
#2115228 in eBooks 2012-11-09 2012-11-09File Name: B009R6CEK2
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An Excellent Book on the Great Canadian Architect Arthur EricksonBy Deerpath"Arthur Erickson: An Architects Life" (year 2013) by David Stouck is an excellent and outstanding book. The great Canadian architects life from the year 1924 to the year 2009 is brilliantly presented in much detail. David Stouck. a professor emeritus of English at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. British Columbia. Canada. knew Arthur Erickson personally and based his book on interviews with Arthur Erickson before his death. The result is a splendid account of Arthur Ericksons architecture along with the context of its development and a totally sympathetic portrait of Arthur Erickson as a man. Arthur Erickson designed Simon Fraser University. so David Stouck was fully familiar with what it was like to work in one of Arthur Ericksons buildings. Arthur Ericksons other famous buildings are discussed in detail. such as the Filberg House in Comox. British Columbia. Canada; the Eppich House One in West Vancouver. British Columbia. Canada; the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge. Alberta. Canada; the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. British Columbia. Canada; the Bagley Wright House in The Highlands of Seattle. Washington. U.S.A.; Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. Ontario. Canada; the Canadian Chancery in Washington. D.C.. U.S.A.; the Eppich House Two in the British Properties of West Vancouver. British Columbia. Canada; and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. Washington. U.S.A. I am currently finishing The Architectural Imagination online Internet course of Harvard University offered through HarvardX and edX. and David Stoucks book on Arthur Erickson provides an excellent addition to my studies.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A good read about a brilliant man. Sadly the love of his life ruined him!By Frederick BoothHis architecture was forward thinking and he was admired as the greatest architect in modern day Canada. I appreciated that the book told of his involvement with someone who ultimately ruined him financially. A sad tale in the end. but thats life. He should have left the boyfriend early on. The lavish lifestyle he brought ultimately destroyed the architect. Nice that he was acknowledged at his death for his brilliance. A bitter-sweet story.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Interesting BiographyBy EthylVery interesting bio of the Canadian architect especially if you are familiare with his work.
