Welcome to Ping and Echo, a daily newsletter that shares one amazing podcast episode guaranteed to be a great listen for kids and their families. Each newsletter includes links to articles, videos, and activities related to the podcast so you can turn every episode into an adventure.
Today’s episode is from The Story Behind podcast which “tells the extraordinary history of ordinary objects … from their ancient beginnings through the present.” This episode gives a brief history of toilet paper: where it came from, what people used before it, and the ever present question of whether the paper should go over the roll or behind it (there is a correct answer here, and it is found in the original patent). We decided to include this episode after driving all over our town - to multiple stores - to find a place that was still selling toilet paper. Ever since COVID-19 began to spread there has been a run on toilet paper, and what was once ordinary has become a hot commodity. That seemed like just the kind of story this podcast specializes in.
Podcast: The Story Behind
Episode: Toilet Paper
Length: 7 minutes
🧐 You Should Know
I’ll always give you a heads up if there is anything in the podcast that might surprise or worry kids. I mean, it’s an episode about toilet paper… the discussion will be scatalogical. But the host keeps it pretty clean.
💡 Try This
After you listen to the episode you can reuse some of your toilet paper rolls with the links and activities below:
🔎 Explore More
Read up on the history behind this episode with these links:
Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe
(This piece is referenced briefly in the episode, and while it isn’t toilet paper related I wanted to include the link for those who want to follow up on this part of the story: How Sears mail-order catalogs undermined Jim Crow racism)
The name Ping and Echo comes from sonar technology which relies on sending out “pings” and receiving back “echos” to discover the world around you. You can send us pictures of the art and activities created by your kids. Email them to pingandecho@gmail.com and we’ll post all your echos on our Instagram and our Twitter page.
Thanks for lending us your ears and your inbox.
Ruby, Toby, and Josh