# Why was brown paper used of old for cuts and bruises? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782 "2016-03-12T19:32:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782/1 "2016-03-12T19:32:18Z")
I’ve come across this several times, most recently in Buckingham’s _The Rehearsal_, 1672, where Bayes taking a tumble and breaking his nose calls for ‘a wet piece of brown paper’ and then of course Jill in the nursery rhyme uses vinegar and brown paper to treat Jack. What was the thinking behind this? Is this folk remedy still used anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782/2 "2016-03-12T21:35:48Z")
[it has a long history](http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/articles/vinegar_and_brown_paper.html) [and is still recommended by some](http://www.helladelicious.com/recipes/2010/08/vinegar-and-brown-paper-poultice/) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782/3 "2016-03-13T15:16:48Z")
Probably it was the cheapest commonly available absorbent substance to make a poultice with. And it peels off fairly readily when dry. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782/4 "2016-03-13T15:19:11Z")
Thanks to both, especially to **Cub Mistress** for those very informative links. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782/5 "2016-03-13T15:43:29Z")
Is that like the roll of brown paper there used to be in butcher shops? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782/6 "2016-03-13T15:55:38Z")
White paper would have been writing paper, which would be more expensive and less absorbent. Brown paper when wet would adhere to the skin and form a cheap, easily removable bandage in the days before adhesive Band-Aids. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782/7 "2016-03-13T16:02:07Z")
> [@dougie-monty](#): > > Is that like the roll of brown paper there used to be in butcher shops? Sort of, but modern brown paper is generally “kraft paper” made of wood pulp, which is thinner, smoother and more brittle than old brown rag paper, which in some cases was more like blotting paper. (Anybody still remember blotting paper?) Historically, brown paper was a very coarse substance made from old rags, rope, canvas, and other relatively stiff fibres.