Did you know that bidet means "little horse" in French? The reason for this somewhat strange name lies in history. Back then, a po shower looked quite different than it does today and was mounted on a high frame that you had to climb onto. Hence the connection with getting on a horse.

Over time, the shape has changed again and again, which is why today it can be found in different designs. Traditionally, the bidet, like the toilet, is permanently installed in the bathroom and also resembles it externally.

Although in Europe today the bidet is most common in Italy and Portugal, it first appeared in France at the end of the 17th century. The exact date or the name of the inventor is not known, but that it was made by a furniture manufacturer.

But it was not only in France that the butt shower enjoyed great popularity. Other cultures also developed forms of the butt shower, which still exist today.

Turkey - The shower toilet, also called a taharet, looks like a conventional toilet and has a built-in bidet function where a jet of water comes out of the back of the toilet.

Japan - In addition to the hot water shower, the washlet can usually even play music or use lighting effects to make going to the toilet a special experience.

Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos - Next to the toilet hangs a water hose to clean yourself with water after going to the toilet.

As we can see, cleaning with water is common all over the world. So why has the use of toilet paper become established in Germany? Both historical and religious reasons play a role here.

Before the first podusche appeared in France, cleaning with water was already firmly established in antiquity. In Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire, there were highly developed water pipes and public baths. Personal hygiene and specifically intimate hygiene were considered very important even then. However, historical events such as the fall of the Roman Empire meant that along with the water pipes, knowledge of the benefits of cleansing with water also disappeared.

Only in the Byzantine Empire and the Arab world did the bathing culture survive and was brought to what is now Spain and Portugal by the conquests. The rest of northern Europe was not reached by these hygienic measures and remained away from the freshness.

In the religious context, purification with water had a bad reputation. Thus, in Christian countries, regular bathing was rejected as a sign of effeminacy and luxury.

In Protestant and Puritan countries (such as Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain), people believed in an ascetic way of life that manifested itself in strict abstinence. This included abstaining from cosmetics and personal hygiene as well as sexual abstinence. The fact that the po shower had difficulty establishing itself here was therefore due in no small part to this.

It's a good thing that we now know that water cleans gently and hygienically and prevents diseases (link to Health: Hygiene - Water instead of Paper). With Bidetlity you do something good for your intimate area and replace toilet paper and wet wipes as well as expensive installed bidets.