In 1393 the Ming court used 720,000 sheets of toilet paper a year.

1393

Each was about 60 by 90 cm, and 15,000 soft, perfumed sheets were made separately for the emperor's family.

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The event

• Founding of the Ming dynasty1368 · Nanjing. Rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang drove out the Mongols and proclaimed the Ming dynasty with its capital at Nanjing. The Ming ruled China for nearly three centuries, rebuilding the Great Wall and raising the Forbidden City in Beijing.

14th century

More amazing facts

• 1386 In 1386 a sow was tried and executed in Falaise for killing an infant.
• 1393 King Charles VI of France believed he was made of glass.
• 1397 · 1889 · 1955 The Golden Pavilion that tourists see in Kyoto is younger than the Eiffel Tower.
• 1400 · 1800 Chastity belts were almost certainly not worn in the Middle Ages.
• 1405 · 1498 Zheng He's first fleet sailed in 1405, 93 years before Vasco da Gama reached India.
• 1405 · 1429 Europe's first woman to make a living as a writer praised Joan of Arc while Joan was still alive.

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