A good toilet paper is hard to find these days, thanks to everyone's totally irrational coronavirus panic buying. But that's not the biggest problem for our butts.

No, worse is that alt-TPs are messing with our septic systems, which makes an even bigger mess for everyone.

My colleague Doug Mahoney has a great new blog post over at Wirecutter that explains why you shouldn't flush anything but toilet paper down your porcelain throne, and also recommends some handy alternatives (and disposal methods) in case you do have a problem finding those cherished rolls of soft white butt scoopers.

 Toilet paper is very fragile and is designed to self-destruct in water with very little agitation. Tissues, on the other hand, are made to stand firm against a 100 mph sneeze discharging from your nose. Although the two products might have the same general look and feel, this video shows the difference in their durability. It takes less than 30 seconds of agitation for the toilet paper to be almost completely broken down. The tissue, however, remains fully intact. In plumbing, the bits of toilet paper can speed down the waste lines, but tissues remain big enough to catch on something, contributing to a clog.

Out of Toilet Paper? You Have Other Options. Just Don’t Flush Them! [Doug Mahoney / Wirecutter]

Image: Public Domain via PxHere Read the rest

Sheboyagan's Patrick D. Beeman has been sentenced to 150 days in the Huber program -- which allows him to work days and return to his cell at night -- as well as $5,500 in restitution payments and 100 hours of community service for a string of vandalism incidents in which he clogged public toilets with plastic water bottles. The toilets Beeman clogged had been supplied by a company where he was temping. Beeman, whom the court also banned from possessing or consuming alcohol or controlled substances, apologized for his behavior at his sentencing and vowed that he would "make things right and pray forgiveness every day." Beeman told police that "he gets urges to do odd things, like look for bottles in the garbage to plug toilets." (via Lowering the Bar) Read the rest