# When did humans start wiping their butts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587 "2013-04-02T01:59:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/41 "2013-04-03T04:30:48Z")
Are you talking about “ **L** et **M** e **W** ikipedia **T** hat **F** or **Y** ou”? ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/42 "2013-04-03T08:36:59Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Are you talking about “ **L** et **M** e **W** ikipedia **T** hat **F** or **Y** ou”? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/43 "2013-04-03T14:10:31Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > Just for kicks try wiping with the hand you don’t normally use. Yeah, isn’t that weird? I’m strongly right-handed and am generally useless trying to do things with my left. Except for wiping. That is strictly left-hand work! ---
**Author:** ![David\_H\_Singanas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/44 "2013-04-04T06:33:58Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > There are a number of animals that engage in coprophagia. There are videos of elephants doing the same, and [rabbits do it too.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit#Diet_and_eating_habits) Well, dogs eat feces as well and my guess is that some of this stuff can restore or improve a dog’s own gut bacteria or systemic chemical deficits. Interesting that the thread ignores the Arabic use of water instead of paper wipes. In fact the Arabic culture regards the use of paper wiping as disgusting and unclean. A typical Egyptian privy will feature a large urn of water and a small cup for pouring clear cool water over one’s backside after a dump. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/45 "2013-04-04T10:33:45Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > (I can’t think of the word. It’s not an acronym, it’s not an abbreviation, its a…Damn, I was really obnoxious a few years ago in a post about using the correct word.) Initialism? ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/46 "2013-04-05T23:46:37Z")
Man is the only animal that flushes - or needs to. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/47 "2013-04-06T02:59:44Z")
> [@mr.jp](#): > > Man is the only animal that flushes - or needs to. small cats bury. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/48 "2013-04-06T03:05:45Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Initialism? Yup. Thanks. Now I can obnoxiously correct someone again. ---
**Author:** ![SpokenTruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@SpokenTruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpokenTruth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/49 "2017-10-17T19:01:12Z")
Or maybe no rock at all. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGIPNl5Vbcc) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587/50 "2017-10-17T19:26:06Z")
> [@slowlearner](#): > > I’ve worked with a lot of very down to earth country boys from Mexico over the years and they all used a smooth rock or a hand (not a friend’s hand, I’d guess). My old friend Bufalo went off to take a country crap one day and he came back with a dead cottontail. He told me he was crouching in the brush, saw the rabbit, and winged it with the rock he was going to wipe with. Bet that’s been going on since the monkeys saw the monolith. He asked the rabbit, “Do you have a problem with shit sticking to your fur?” The rabbit replied, “No, I don’t.” So he picked up the rabbit and used him to wipe his ass. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-humans-start-wiping-their-butts/654587.md?page=2)