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Not in Italy

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.

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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.

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