Vikings used moss collected from the dense forests that surrounded their settlements to use as toilet paper.
As per the salors and vikings, the way of wiping butt is using old or damaged anchor chords or cables as the toilet paper, which is similar to the ancient French did. But the viking used the shellfish to wipe their butts, which is so similar to what the people in ancient UK did.
Before the availability of mass produced toilet paper in the mid-1800s, humans had to resort to using what was free and available, even if it didn't provide the most effective (or comfortable) results. Options included rocks, leaves, grass, moss, animal fur, corn cobs, coconut husks, sticks, sand, and sea shells.
The Romans used a communal small mop on a stick. called in Latin: tersorium. It was soaked in vinegar or salt water. It could be a sponge on a stick as well.
Instead of toilets, people used cesspits, which are holes dug outside for toilet waste.
They could also serve as status symbols, featuring intricate carvings and stored in decorative cases, likely to show off one's wealth. According to the chronicle of John of Wallingford, the Vikings combed their hair daily and bathed every Saturday, making them attractive to English women.
Vikings used a unique liquid to start fires.
The sodium nitrate found in urine would allow the material to smolder rather than burn, so Vikings could take fire with them on the go.
Mullein aka “cowboy toilet paper”
Even hard men want a soft leaf. If the cowboys used the large velvety leaves of the mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant while out on the range, then you can too!
The use of toilet paper first started in ancient China around the 2nd century BC.
Cowboy's toilet paper is an invasive wildflower that is native to Eurasia and Africa. It is a biennial, meaning that it lives for two years. During the first year, it grows close to the ground as a basal rosette of leaves.
Convenient for insertion and surprisingly soft when dried, corn cobs were plentiful and popular among Native Americans and colonial settlers in North America. With the edible kernels removed, the remaining cob has copious grooves and indentations which become quite efficient at trapping any remaining fecal matter.
Corn cobs
Dried corn cobs were plentiful in rural agrarian societies throughout history. According to Farmers' Almanac, the corncob worked by turning on its axis to clean the region (you get the picture). Some outhouses in western US states still use this method.
Eskimos used moss or snow. Vikings used wool. Mayans and early/rural Americans used the cobs from shelled ears of corn. Other handy options were hay, leaves, grass, ferns, maize, fruit skins, animal fur, and later, fabric, newspaper, magazines, and pages of books.
A 'girthy' relic
The Lloyds Bank Coprolite, affectionately referred to as the “precious poop,” is believed to be the largest known fossilized human turd in recorded history.
A sponge on a stick
If you went to the toilet in ancient Rome, you would not have any toilet paper. Instead you may have used a sponge (Latin: tersorium) to wipe. These ancient devices consisted of a stick with a vinegar- or salt water-soaked sponge attached. They were often shared!
Wiping in the Medieval Times
This included items such as hay, wood shavings, corn cobs, and even iron cables.
Today's royals take care of their own personal hygiene. But historically the role of Groom of the Stool was a very important one at court, which involved being responsible for assisting the monarch with their excretion and ablutions.
The First Shower
Ancient tribal people would simply stand under the falling water to clean themselves. Unlike today, where the majority of households have showers, people would have to travel miles to hunt out a waterfall, as this was a much more effective way of cleansing rather than bathing in a pool or lake.
Before paper-based toilet tissue, people often used plants for cleansing. Colonists used dried corn cobs; Aztecs used the leaves of maize; fruit skins and moss were other materials used at the completion of business.
Larger ships had “seats of ease” - toilets in the same place. The Bow is in the front of the ship or in the head of the ship. That maybe where the name Ships Head originated. Instead of Toilet Paper there was a long, poo-smeared rope that snaked through the hole in the Seats of Ease.
If you're outside and you have to go, leaves are nature's toilet paper. The most common are Maple, Oak, Mullein, Cottonwood, Hazelnut, Thimbleberry leaves and more. Corn husks could also come in handy.
They began each morning with a personal hygiene regimen, and Saturday was set aside for bathing and washing clothes; a practice the Anglo-Saxon chroniclers found both strange and objectionable. The Viking reputation for being well-groomed comes from Christian accounts condemning such behavior as vain posturing.
Rather, it's more likely that the Berserkers were getting high off henbane or alcohol, although there's also evidence that cannabis (especially in the form of hemp) was present in the region.
"The examination of skeletons from different localities in Scandinavia reveals that the average height of the Vikings was a little less than that of today: men were about 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall and women 5 ft 2-1/2 in.