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.
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.
