Yesterday, in the company of three Italians, and women at that, I made a little discovery concerning something which is not in Italy.
What I discovered was that something I grew up with in England is hardly known here in Italy. This surprised me, as the item to which I am referring inhabited most of the bathrooms I had ever visited in the British Isles.
Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Italian bathroom with one, and I don’t recall having seen the things in Italian shops either, whereas no self-respecting Boots the Chemist’s would be without them.

Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
Just what the blazes am I on about. Well, dear reader, I’m not going to let on. It’s Monday, the weather is grotty here in dull Milan, so I thought I’d try to extinguish those Monday blues with a little fun.
If you have not guessed what the heck I’m waffling on about, and have a few spare moments, then do read on for some more clues.
A Few More Clues
- Italians probably don’t even know what the Italian word is for this odd item in their language. In fact, when I looked it up in a dictionary, I was told my dictionary was up the creek. A quick Google proved that it was not.
- Many Italians, I would hazard a guess, do not know that these things even exist.
- I don’t know whether these weird and wonderful naturally created objects are used in countries outside of the United Kingdom, and I don’t know where they come from.
- It’s scratchy when new, but becomes somewhat slimy and horrible after a time.
Any ideas? If so, post them in a comment. And for extra brownie points, tell me what the Italian for this item is too!
Happy guessing.