When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Paper is a ubiquitous part of everyday life, but how is it made, and where did it originate?

In case you’re counting, the average American will go through 26 kg (57 lbs) of toilet paper in a single year. Multiply that by the 332 million people in the U.S. and you get more than 19 billion ...