The bidet dates back to 18th-century France and, by all accounts, is more hygienic than toilet paper and better for the environment. But, much like the metric system, Americans aren’t adapting to them anytime soon.

In fact, a 2022 poll found that only 12% of Americans “know a lot about” bidets. Americans make up 4% of the world’s population but use 20% of its toilet paper, while 70% of the world doesn’t use toilet paper at all.

When you look at the numbers, bidets are a much better option for the environment and for one’s pocketbook than toilet paper. According to The Process, Americans cut down 31 million trees each year for toilet paper, and it takes 37 gallons of water to produce a single roll, while each use of a bidet requires only one-eighth of a gallon.

Bidets also do a better job of cleaning your rear end than a square of toilet paper.

“The direct application of water for post-toilet cleansing removes residual fecal matter more effectively than toilet paper alone,” Dr. Farhan Malik, a health and wellness expert, told KTVX-TV. “This can help prevent skin irritation and inflammation in the genital area. The gentle, targeted spray of water also reduces excessive wiping and tugging, which can lead to discomfort.”

Why haven’t Americans adopted the bidet?

When Americans were stationed in France during World War II, many visited bordellos, a fact they probably didn’t want people back home to know. In the bordellos, sex workers and their clients used bidets to clean up before and after their encounters, so Americans came to associate bidets with naughtiness and illicit behavior. 

“GIs visiting bordellos would often see bidets in the bathrooms, so they began to associate these basins with sex work,” Maria Teresa Hart writes in The Atlantic. “Given America’s puritanical past, it makes sense that, once back home, servicemen would feel squeamish about presenting these fixtures to their homeland.”

Even before World War II, bidets were associated with contraception and abortion. “The presence of a bidet is regarded as almost a symbol of sin,” Norman Haire, a pioneering gynecologist and sexologist, said in 1936.

Bidets make economic sense

What’s interesting is that, even though Americans rejected bidets on moral grounds, that resistance hasn’t been overridden by economic common sense. Americans spend $11 billion on toilet paper every year, and the average person in the U.S. uses 141 rolls annually. A single bidet attachment can cost as little as a one-time fee of $35.

Bidets have been found to be better for your health, the environment, and your wallet, but Americans still won’t switch from paper to a little spritz of water. If the runs on TP during the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t inspire Americans to change their ways, maybe nothing will. 

“Toilet paper is not a necessity. It is a cultural habit wearing the costume of a necessity. Seventy percent of the human population proves that every single day,” The Process reports. “A product most of the world has never needed became the first thing Americans panic-bought when crisis arrived. Not medicine. Not food. Toilet paper. That tells you something, not about cleanliness, but about how habits take root. They do not grow from logic. They grow from one small misunderstood moment, repeated across a generation, then another, until the habit feels like instinct.”

A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a  gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing. 

Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold. 

A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen. 

Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing. 

Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to  loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth. 

Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:

Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis 

Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community

Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or  in one of 60   countries where we work around the globe

Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door 

Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore

Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone. 

Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is widely regarded as the most action-packed installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Battle of Helm’s Deep alone was a juggernaut of a fight scene, wherein thousands of Riders of Rohan (the good guys) go up against the forces of Saruman’s infantry of Uruk-hai, Orcs, and Dunlendings (the bad guys). 

And of course, valiantly fighting in disguise as a Rider of Rohan, or the Rohirrim, in the third and final installment of Lord of the Rings (i.e. Return of the King) is Eowyn (played by Miranda Otto), one of the only three female leads in the trilogy. Funny to think that Eowyn wasn’t, in fact, the only cross-dressing female in this iconic movie moment…not by a long shot. 

The real riders behind the army

To capture the full size and scope of the battle, Peter Jackson needed extras. Lots of them. Extras who could not only ride a horse well (they’re not called riders for no reason), but who would also, ideally, own their own horse. That significantly narrowed the availability of viable performers. Surprisingly, an overwhelmingly larger number of women fit that bill than men. So, Jackson and his team created a bit of movie magic. They gave these female riders fake beards, and voila: an army of horseback riding men. 

A BTS story that stuck

Major LOTR nerds might remember this story being shared in the extensive behind-the-scenes footage that came with the DVD. In it, we see the female extras getting fit (one even jokes, “I am a girl! See?!”), as well as Viggo Mortensen, aka Aragorn, coyly admitting that he may or may not have had a crush on one with a strawberry blonde beard. 

While this kind of bonus content is, in some ways, a thing of pop culture past, this story lives on online as part of LOTR lore, occasionally resurfacing from time to time to either shock those who were unaware, or give aficionados reason to brag, “Yeah, I already knew that.” Either way, it’s always an opportunity to find newfound appreciation. It also highlights how the best kind of filmmaking often relies on practical solutions that subtly reshape what audiences think they are seeing. 

Expanding women’s presence in Middle-earth

In subsequent adaptations of Tolkien’s work, there have been a few measures taken, for better or worse, to add more female representation to the mix. The Hobbit franchise, for example, invented Elven warrior Tauriel, played by Evangeline Lilly. Similarly, Rings of Power centers on a young Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), and also features dwarf royalty Princess Disa, played by Sophia Nomvete. 

Both the Lord of the Rings books and movie series are highly regarded for the way they portray masculinity and male relationships. But as we see, both in obvious and not-so-obvious ways, the women in LOTR brought to life some of the story’s most defining moments. 

And really, even more than that, this story speaks to the collaborative nature of filmmaking. As a new rendition of Lord of the Rings is currently being created—in a time when so many vitally human aspects of filmmaking seem to be at risk—one can only hope........

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