The Comfort Wipe: Toilet Paper on a Stick, Because the Infomercial Industry Looked at Wiping and Saw a Market Opportunity
The infomercial actors struggled with regular toilet paper like it was an engineering challenge, and the solution was a plastic stick that holds the paper for you
The Comfort Wipe is an 18-inch plastic extension arm with a grip at one end and a soft, flexible head at the other that holds toilet paper or pre-moistened wipes. You attach the paper to the head, use the Comfort Wipe to reach, and then press a release button that drops the used paper into the toilet. It is toilet paper on a stick.
The infomercial — which is one of the most analyzed, mocked, and beloved infomercials in As-Seen-On-TV history — opens with the line: "Being a big guy has its advantages... and its disadvantages." The actor holds a wad of toilet paper and looks at it with the specific despair of a person who has been asked to convey "bathroom difficulty" on camera for $200. The implication is that this man cannot reach, and the Comfort Wipe solves the reaching problem.
The infomercial then shows the Comfort Wipe being demonstrated on a mannequin arm — a flesh-colored plastic arm that the presenter wipes with the device to demonstrate the ergonomic improvement. The mannequin arm is not attached to a mannequin. It is a disembodied arm. Being wiped. On television. During the middle of the day. On a channel your grandmother was watching.
The presenter describes the Comfort Wipe as "the first improvement to toilet paper since the 1880s." This is the sentence that launched a thousand internet comments, because the bidet — which cleans more effectively than any paper product — was invented in the 1700s. The Comfort Wipe's claim to be the "first improvement" ignores the bidet, the wet wipe, and the entire Japanese toilet industry, which has been improving the bathroom experience since the 1980s with heated seats, warm water, and air drying. The Comfort Wipe is not the first improvement. The Comfort Wipe is a stick.
The Glorious User Experience
The Internet, 2009-Present — ★★★★★
"Five stars. Not for the product. For the infomercial. The Comfort Wipe infomercial is the greatest 90 seconds of television ever produced. The actor's delivery. The mannequin arm. The phrase 'first improvement since the 1880s.' The release button demonstration. Every second is comedy gold. The infomercial has been watched millions of times. It has produced more entertainment than the product has produced hygiene. Five stars for the content. Zero stars for the stick."
Karen from Chicago, IL — ★☆☆☆☆
“The infomercial — which is one of the most analyzed, mocked, and beloved infomercials in As-Seen-On-TV history — opens with the line: "Being a big guy has its advantages”
Click to Tweet"I bought the Comfort Wipe for my father who has mobility issues. This is the product's legitimate use case — people with physical limitations that prevent comfortable reaching. For my father, it works. For anyone who can reach normally: you do not need a stick. Your arm is the stick. Your arm has been the stick since the invention of arms. One star for the marketing that implies everyone needs this."
Anonymous Amazon Reviewer — ★☆☆☆☆
"The Comfort Wipe holds the paper at the end of an 18-inch stick. The paper is now 18 inches from your hand. You have less control. Less feel. Less ability to, shall we say, assess the situation. The stick introduces distance between you and the task, and bathroom tasks benefit from proximity, not distance. The stick is a solution that creates new problems while solving the original problem in the least elegant way possible. One star."
The Verdict
The Comfort Wipe is a plastic stick that holds toilet paper, marketed as a breakthrough innovation by an infomercial that is funnier than most comedy specials. The product serves a legitimate need for people with mobility issues — and for that population, it's a dignified accessibility tool. For everyone else, it's a stick.
A TUSHY bidet attachment costs $79 and eliminates the need for extensive wiping altogether. Japanese toilets have been cleaning without paper since the 1980s. The bidet was invented in the 1700s. The Comfort Wipe is not "the first improvement since the 1880s." The Comfort Wipe is the last improvement anyone would think of, arrived at by working backward from every other solution and landing on: a stick.
We rate it 1 out of 5 bathroom innovations.
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✅What to Buy Instead
TUSHY Classic Bidet
$79 bidet attachment — actual bathroom upgrade that cleans with water. The improvement the Comfort Wipe pretended to be.
Cottonelle Flushable Wipes
Flushable wipes for extra freshness without special equipment. No stick required.
Charmin Ultra Soft
Good toilet paper. That's the upgrade. Better paper, not a stick to hold the paper.
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