# How does a blind person know when they're done wiping? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204 "2020-09-09T21:02:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/1 "2020-09-09T21:02:16Z")
Hello Everyone, Question circulating work today is how does a blind person know when they’re done wiping after having a bowel movement? I realize that it was said in jest, but I’m actually curious now. This seems like it would be a difficult problem for a blind person. Please understand I’m not trying to be a jerk, I just don’t know the answer ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/2 "2020-09-09T21:21:36Z")
Per a quick Google: They can tell by the way the toilet paper feels when wiping. The rougher it feels, the cleaner. The more slippier–the dirtier/still needs cleaning. Experience has a lot to do with it. [https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+does+a+blind+person+know+to+stop+wiping](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+does+a+blind+person+know+to+stop+wiping) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/3 "2020-09-10T07:32:38Z")
This question pings my radar. I’m almost certain we’ve done this here before. In any case, the question is commonly asked. A DuckDuckGo search turns up a full page of cites to Q-and-A sites where it’s asked and variously answered. (Best answer: Use Braille toilet paper.) ETA: I also noted that a good many of those questioners, like our OP here, likewise felt it necessary to include some apologetic comment with the question. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/4 "2020-09-10T11:13:06Z")
Supposedly, they still have the sense of smell. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/5 "2020-09-10T12:15:51Z")
It’s been asked a few times before: > [@Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind/577612): > > How do blind people know when to quit wiping? > [@Question about the blind.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-blind/295428): > > My first post here. Hope this place is as fun as it seems. Anyway,I have puzzled over this for years. If it has been asked before please bear with me. How do blind people know when to stop wiping their rearend after pooping? Or do they just go for a total wash up after? > [@Blind People](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blind-people/99160): > > How do blind people know when to stop wiping? > [@Please, don't laugh. This question may look odd, but it's a serious one...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-dont-laugh-this-question-may-look-odd-but-its-a-serious-one/39736): > > Please, don’t laugh. This question may look odd, but it’s a serious one… How does a blind man knows that his @$$ is properly wiped? It’s also brought up in nearly every thread about the blind or about wiping after #2. ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/6 "2020-09-10T15:44:36Z")
I’m amazed that so many people appear to inspect the toilet paper after every wipe, to see if it needs doing again. Apparently I’ve developed the superpower of being able to tell when I’m done wiping by feel. I thought most people were the same way. If I was told I was losing my sight, “How will I know when I’m done wiping?” doesn’t even begin to register as a concern. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/7 "2020-09-10T16:26:43Z")
Use a bidet and Bob’s your uncle. Sighted or Sightless folks ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/8 "2020-09-10T18:26:27Z")
> [@KMS94](#): > > I’m amazed that so many people appear to inspect the toilet paper after every wipe, to see if it needs doing again. Apparently I’ve developed the superpower of being able to tell when I’m done wiping by feel. I thought most people were the same way. This. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/9 "2020-09-10T18:29:50Z")
> [@KMS94](#): > > I’m amazed that so many people appear to inspect the toilet paper after every wipe, to see if it needs doing again. I do, but only because I can. I really don’t have to; I can tell by feel. I could shave, get dressed, and make a sandwich without looking too. But I do because I can. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/10 "2020-09-10T19:00:37Z")
TMI warning. Maybe some of this goes back to wiping styles. I was taught as a kid to ball up the TP and wipe. However, sometime along the way I decided, “that’s stupid, I’m folding this stuff.” So now I fold it in neat squares. You can feel A LOT more when it is folded instead of balled up. After several years of this I realized that I didn’t have to look nearly as often. I do sometimes when I am uncertain. In those cases, I think you would just give a couple extra wipes to make sure. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/11 "2020-09-10T21:28:58Z")
Somewhere, sometime, on the boards–I am not going to try to look it up–someone answered by saying that his blind girlfriend smells it. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/12 "2020-09-10T23:57:17Z")
I’m visually impaired but _not_ blind. Ever try to read the braille on an ATM or beside the elevator buttons you push to select your floor ? IMHO, if a blind person can make sense of _that_, then that’s a superpower that will do you a world of good on this subject. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/13 "2020-09-11T00:09:04Z")
For a real trick, try reading the Braille on the big menu at the drive-thru without getting out of your car. ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/14 "2020-09-11T00:31:32Z")
I’m a fan of the braille that’s just printed on stuff and not raised. And how would they know where to look feel for the “text”? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/15 "2020-09-11T04:51:27Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Question circulating work today is how does a blind person know when they’re done wiping after having a bowel movement? When the seeing-eye dog stops sniffing their ass? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/16 "2020-09-12T19:39:16Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > When the seeing-eye dog stops sniffing their ass? I suppose you think that’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2020, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/17 "2020-09-15T10:00:41Z")
[Sigh.](http://www.galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=134) (Resets counter to zero.) ---
**Author:** ![BruceMar275](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brucemar275/32/4774_2.png) [@BruceMar275](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BruceMar275)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2020, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/18 "2020-09-15T10:59:33Z")
These questions seem stupid, but they are the most interesting to know ones. I never thought about anything like this before. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/19 "2020-09-15T16:01:16Z")
I have to agree with this, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed on this board for over 20 years. Over and over I see a thread and think, “ It never occurred to me to even think about that, but now I really want to know the answer!” A poop-related example from many years ago was a question in IMHO, I think, asking about whether people look at their poop in the toilet before they flush. I have no idea why the person asked or why I found it interesting, but hey, I still remember it! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-blind-person-know-when-theyre-done-wiping/920204/20 "2020-09-15T19:27:20Z")
The official answer is: “When you think you’re done, then wipe two more times.”