History of Paper Towels

Paper towels. What would one do without them? OK, let's not go there. But really, have you given that a thought? What would we do without paper towels? Would we not feel crippled? Think about it - we wash our hands, out comes the paper towel. In cleaning the kitchen, yup, we reach out for the paper towel. You see a friend crying and what do you pass her? But of course a paper towel. So paper towels are an integral part of our everyday existence, the absence of which, we probably cannot dare imagine. But have you ever wondered what is the history of paper towels? How did the invention of paper towels happen? Would it be similar to that of the written paper or would it have a journey of its own? If this has piqued your thought and you would like to know about its history, well then read the following article and you'll have some very interesting facts on the same.

History

Some inventions happen after putting in years and years of hard work, carrying out countless experiments, facing a score of failed turns and near misses and finally being able to unveil the product in all its glory. While others, not so much. The history of paper towels falls in the second category, and that gives it a twist of its own. It involves some accidents and germs and brains ticking into great ideas. Intriguing? OK, let me explain.

Its history is closely linked with that of the toilet tissue's history...By the year 1907 the Scott Paper company of Pennsylvania was a leading brand name for toilet tissue paper. It was started by the Scott brothers, Arthur and Irvin in 1879. All was going well, when bad news came 'a knocking. The president of the Scott Paper company (Arthur Scott) was told that an entire batch of toilet tissue paper, as much as an entire railroad car, was rendered useless. Reason? It was rolled into extremely thick rolls and hence, could not be used for its intended purpose. Which meant that the Scott Paper company would have to incur a heavy loss. He was left wondering what his next step should be, and whether the toilet tissue paper should be simply discarded. It was then that Arthur Scott remembered reading about an article in an 1879 tabloid. The article was about a Philadelphia teacher who had started handing out soft paper to her students suffering from colds. She did it as a substitute to the cloth towels that were used in the community washrooms and the usage of which would only spread the disease around. Instead of which a soft paper could be used once and disposed off and it would prevent the transmitting of the germs from one sick kid to another.

Scott loved the idea so much that he was convinced that he could use the discarded paper for that purpose, and that is what he set about to do. He cut the paper into individual sections and designed them into towel-sized sheets. He sold them as a more effective preventive measure for the onset of diseases, and later as disposable paper towels to hotels and restaurants to be used in public washrooms. He named the product Sani-Towel later to highlight their superior hygienic qualities.

In 1931 Scott set about to create history by introducing an entire new category to the grocery list. He introduced the first paper towel for kitchen cleaning. These paper towels were 18'' in length and 13'' in width. However, the paper towels did not become a common household item and replace the cloth towel for a very long time.

Facts

Here are some interesting facts about paper towels that might interest you.

• How do paper towels soak up all that water? It's because they are loosely woven together, thereby allowing the water to travel between them.
• Manufacturers introduce shapes of circles or diamonds on the paper so that it helps in absorbing the liquid better.
• Paper towels are often bleached white to highlight their sanitation and hygiene factor.
• These are made from recycled or even virgin paper pulp.
• It is the second most used product of the 'tissue market', after the toilet paper.
• Its consumption is the highest in the USA.

Now that you know some interesting facts about paper towels and a whole lot more about its history, you can start looking at the paper towel differently. Use it for cleaning the kitchen or for cleaning any other surface, the fact remains, that the paper towel is here to stay. Thank god for that. Just make sure that you do not misuse this product by using it mindlessly. And better still, opt for a pack which is made of recycled paper.