Sylvester Stallone notices in the sci-fi movie Demolition Man that the toilet paper has run out and informs his colleagues. However, he receives only mocking glances and laughter in response, as three shells in the bathroom serve as a substitute for toilet paper. One of the writers now reveals where the idea for the three shells came from.
What kind of movie is Demolition Man?
- Demolition Man premiered on December 2, 1993, in German cinemas and is set in the year 2032.
- Sylvester Stallone takes on the role of John Spartan, who must serve a prison sentence in cryosleep. He awakens some years later in the future in San Angeles.
- In the future, there is no pollution, unemployment, flesh food, physical closeness, or crime.
The screenwriters wanted the setting to feel as futuristic as possible. Therefore, co-writer Daniel Waters thought about what eco-friendly toilet paper of the future might look like.
In one scene, we actually see Spartan coming out of the bathroom. He informs Lenina Huxley (played by Sandra Bullock) that the toilet paper has run out, and there are only three shells on a shelf instead.
The reaction to this is devastating: Spartan is laughed at, and the participants joke that Spartan does not know how to use the shells. But Waters has now explained where the idea for the shells even came from.
You can watch the mentioned scene in a video on the YouTube channel of user BadfishKoo:
Author of Demolition Man reveals where the three shells come from
Where does the idea come from? Waters was looking for something that would serve as toilet paper of the future. When he asked his screenwriting colleague Larry Karaszewski for advice, he happened to be in a “meeting” on the toilet at the time.
Waters wanted Karaszewski to look around and give him an idea for an object he could use as toilet paper in the film. Karaszewski then spotted three shells that served as decoration in his bathroom.
The conversation between the two can be seen on Twitter/X:
Waters liked the idea so much that he incorporated the shells as a substitute for toilet paper in the film. That’s why people in the future wipe their butts with shells now. How exactly the cleaning function is supposed to work has not been clarified to this day.
The only one who provided a possible explanation is actress Sandra Bullock. She explained that the shells replace a bidet:
There is number one, number two, and then the cleaning.
Sandra Bullock, via mtv.com
Number one and number two presumably refer to urination and defecation, while the third shell is meant for cleaning. As if that statement were not confusing enough, she added that the shells can be used like maracas as musical instruments.
By the way, it is not made clear in the film whether Spartan ever found out how to use the shells.
Even before his big breakthrough, actor Sylvester Stallone had to make tough decisions: Sylvester Stallone sold his dog due to money problems, later got him back under one condition.
