We at Modern Moist Towelette Collecting would like to extend a gracious thanks to all who have sent E-mail, snail-mail, and especially moist towelettes to our publication. This section highlights some of the best (or most frequently asked) questions we've received.
Permission is obtained from the originator of the question before posting, and e-mail addresses are included only if desired.
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And Now...
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Our first letter comes from Al Langlois (alangoi@remc8.k12.mi.us):
: Hi!
When I was out west, the issue of the proper name for moist towelettes came
up. Some people chose to refer to the little sanitary bundles of goodness
as "Handy wipes" or "Wet Naps". Is this appropriate,
or should Moist Towelettes ONLY be referred to as that? Or is it like the
Kleenex conspiracy--you know, those thingies you blow your nose on AREN'T
actually Kleenexes, but they are actually "Facial Tissue", because
they aren't always of the Kleenex brand. Any help you could offer would
be appreciated.
: Thank
you for the excellent question: Are the terms "Wet-Naps" and "Handy
Wipes" acceptable in the place of the term "Moist Towelette"?
Let me tackle them one at a time: You are quite correct. "Wet-Nap" is the name for one of the series of towelettes from Nice-Pak, one of the foremost producers of Moist Towelettes. Due to its popularity, it has experienced a bit of what (if my memory of economics serves me) is referred to as a market monopoly, a type of pseudo-monopoly whereby the product is often referred to by a company's name for it, like the Kleenex you mentioned, Q-Tips, and Styrofoam, among others.
Business catalogs generally refer to "Moist Towelettes" as such, but the term "wipes" is also used. Since "wipes" encompasses a larger range of products, such as alcohol wipes and baby wipes, we at MMTC prefer to use the more specific term "Moist Towelette".
Andrew Harrison from Toronto, ON, (harrison@rcc.on.ca) writes:
: Hi!
I am a college student in Toronto, ON. I enjoy moist towelettes mainly for
their smell...I love it! I was wondering if you know what type of aromatic
ingredients are contained in the average towelette. Also, have the collectors
had much general success finding towelettes in and around Canada? I do a
fair bit of traveling, but I don't very often get offered moist towelettes
(I usually camp rather than stay in motels/hotels), so I was wondering if
you could offer any tips on how to start a geographically diverse collection.
: Thanks,
Andrew, for your questions. We are still trying to research what indgredients
give most moist towelettes their wonderful odoriferous emanations. If any
of you readers have any information regarding this, please let us know.
MMTC doesn't have any towelettes in its collection with Canadian logos,
but we do know that Sanfacon, a prominent manufacturer, is located in Quebec.
Time magazine for including the site in the July 97 Digital issue.
Joel Stein of NY, NY for the Time interview.
Pat Harbron of NY, NY for the "human towelette" photo-shoot.
Ken Beer of NY, NY for being the first to send moist towelettes.
Andrew Denton of Sydney, Australia and those on his radio show team for allowing me to appear on Sydney's Andrew Denton Morning Show.
Family and Friends of MMTC in FL for gathering towelettes whenever possible.