Do You Know?

1. The world’s first piece of paper was made from recycled material? That’s right! Around 200 B.C., the Chinese used old fishing nets to make the world’s very first piece of paper. 
2. Paper recycling has been around as long as paper itself. Paper companies have always recognized the environmental and economic benefits of recycling. In recent years, paper recycling has become popular with everyone as a way to help protect our environment by reusing our resources and conserving landfill space. 
3. Today, about 87% of the more than 520 paper and paperboard mills in the U.S. recycle some recovered paper. Recovered paper provides over one-third of all the fiber used at U.S. mills.
4. Americans recover nearly 50% of all the paper they use.
5. More paper is recovered in the U.S. than sent to landfills.
6. In the U.S., paper accounts for two-thirds of all the packaging material recovered for recycling - more than glass, metal and plastic combined! 
7. Recovered paper supplies close to 40% of the fiber used to make all paper and paperboard products in the U.S.
8. Every day, U.S. papermakers recycle enough paper to fill a 15-mile long train of boxcars.
9. A typical newsprint machine produces as many as 500 tons of paper every day. In the early 21st century, use of recovered paper is projected to grow twice as fast as the use of wood pulp.
10. The first creatures that produced paper were the wasps. 
11. Most paper is made from wood cellulose.
12. A sheet of paper is held together by hydrogen bonding. 
13. Papermaking was brought to Europe by the Arabs. 
14. Paper towels are made from paper pulp, which is extracted from wood or fiber crops. 
15. Paper towels were first made by Arthur Scott out of a cartload full of rejected toilet paper! He perforated them into small towel-size sheets and sold them as the first ever disposable towels.
16. Paper towels have to be disposed, after just one use.
17. There are patterns and shapes often imprinted into paper towels to maximize absorption.
18. Colored paper towels were introduced just 30 years ago and come in two distinct classes; domestic and institutional.  
19. Professionals use paper airplanes for scientific and theory testing of aircraft behaviour.
20. The smallest paper airplane was made from origami paper. The smallest origami paper model of a Crane Bird was folded under a microscope using tweezers by Mr Naito from Japan and was made from a piece of paper measuring 2.9 mm squared. It was displayed on top of a sewing needle. 
21. A paper airplane won't fly if you throw it in outer space. There is no atmosphere and it will just float away in a straight line. With no gravity to pull it down, it will possibly float on forever until it hits an object. 
22. Toilet paper was first patented in Albany (a small country in Europe). 
23. In many countries, you don't flush toilet paper.
24. About four billion people don't use toilet paper. About 70% to 75% of the world's population don't use toilet paper. 
25. If you hang your toilet paper in such a way that you can pull it from the bottom, you are deemed to be more intelligent than people who hang their toilet paper and pull it from the top. 

Adapted from: http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/earth_answers/earthanswers_recycle.pdf

                       http://www.paperfacts.com/
                       http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-paper-towels.html
                       http://community.warplanes.com/2008/09/11/paper-airplane-facts/
                       http://www.toiletpaperhistory.net/toilet-paper-facts/toilet-paper-fun-facts/