Coventina's History Thread: The End of the Paper Series!
Paper has proved to be a versatile material in uses that go far beyond writing and printing. Following the Civil War, veteran Charles Stilwell returned to his home in Ohio and became a mechanical engineer. He noticed that paper bags used to carry groceries were not well made and wouldn't stand up on their own. He solved the problem, patenting a machine in 1883 that made paper grocery bags with a flat bottom and pleated sides. The style remains largely unchanged in the paper bags used today.
Some final fun facts:
Canada and the US are the world's largest producers of paper and paper products.
According to the EPA, the average American uses approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products each year.
Recycling just one ton of paper saves 17 trees.
Americans take toilet paper very seriously. In one Tonight Show monologue in 1973, Johnny Carson cracked a joke about a toilet paper shortage. Concerned citizens across the country left their beds and homes to stock up on toilet paper that very night!
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