Readers are chiming-in in droves, including those who think this conversation has no place in the Corner (see the last email for a polite representative of this constituency):

Having just spent three weeks in Germany I may be something of an authority on the topic, but certainly do not want to be known as your “German Toilet Paper Guy” Germans (or at least the authorities) are obsessed with recycling. Thus, the reasoning goes, it is a waste to use first run paper fibers for such a mundane task that does not lend itself to leaving recyclable material. Better to use nearly 100% post consumer waste to deal with…consumer waste. The result: Toilet paper of a sandpaper consistency that helps explain the famous lack of humor (my southern Bavarian relatives excepted) in Germans.
For the love of God please withold my name.

And:

Lived in London for a while. People ask me what I didn’t like. My number one response . . .
“They only give you one napkin.”
Every sandwich shop, bakery, you name it. One measly little piece of tissue to wipe your hands as you eat your meatball sandwich. Not a self-serve napkin dispenser to be found anywhere. God forbid I take three or four . . .
Lone exception(s) are the American places. Starbucks lets you take them to your heart’s content . . . and I did.
a
p.s. Long-time reader — The Corner is my voice of sanity.

And:

Your posting about the quirky napkins and paper towels in Europe brought
back funny (not funny then) memories of my trip to Hungary. The bath towels in the hotels and private rentals were munchkin sized and made of
the thinnest terry cloth I’ve ever seen. A sneeze would render the towel soaked.
After a day at the open market I found myself in, shall I say…distress, in need of a restroom. As I raced for the entrance to the public restroom I was accosted by the attendant who demanded coin for toilet paper! I threw out whatever I had in my pocket and it bought me two squares of light duty sandpaper. Somewhere Cheryl Crow was smiling!!
Glad you had a nice trip!

And:

Your posting about the quirky napkins and paper towels in Europe brought
back funny (not funny then) memories of my trip to Hungary. The bath towels in the hotels and private rentals were munchkin sized and made of
the thinnest terry cloth I’ve ever seen. A sneeze would render the towel soaked.
After a day at the open market I found myself in, shall I say…distress, in need of a restroom. As I raced for the entrance to the public restroom I was accosted by the attendant who demanded coin for toilet paper! I threw out whatever I had in my pocket and it bought me two squares of light duty sandpaper. Somewhere Cheryl Crow was smiling!!
Glad you had a nice trip!

And:

Jonah,
I’m getting a kick out of your tales and responses re:paper towels in public bathrooms and European toilet paper. For years I’ve used paper towels when exiting the bathroom, and I’ve taken a few ribbings from friends, but I won’t change my ways. I have a large, young family, and I do all of the grocery shopping since the wife usually has the kids. I always use the hand sanitizer after shopping, and NEVER put any item in the “kids seat” part of the shopping cart. As I explained to a friend, do you really want to put your loaf of bread where some kid’s leaking diaper sat 30 minutes ago? (BTW, nobody ever uses that part of the cart after I tell them that).
I haven’t been to Germany in many years, so I don’t recall the paper being so rough, but I’m not surprised. This reminds me of a joke:
“Ever heard of John Wayne toilet paper?
It’s rough and tough and won’t take sh*t off anybody.”
Loved the book,

And, of course:

Mr. Goldberg,
Really. Is this really appropriate for the Corner? As you surely know, there are no end of serious subjects that need to be addressed and you’re wasting all of this time on toilet paper? Ideas, yes. Scatology, no. Would WFB think?

Me: Sigh. I’ll spare the usual lecture about how the Corner is intended to be a mixture of the lighthearted, offbeat and the serious, and simply assert that it is so. My colleagues have done their usual excellent work covering the serious policy issues today and I will return to them myself when the mood strikes and I decompress from my travels. Moreover, as I am in the catbird seat when it comes to reading the feedback from readers, I can assure you that many find this discussion edifying, amusing and even, dare I say it, somewhat serious.

Oh, and I am sure that WFB would take great interest in this conversation. He liked this sort of thing.