OK, before I begin, I should state that I am really only writing this article because I thought the title would be really funny. I just like saying "great toilet paper debate, great toilet paper debate…". Apparently we really DON'T ever outgrow potty humor.
An interesting fact is that although primitive toilets have been noted at archaeological sites as old as 2500 BC, the invention of the "modern" toilet is credited to one John Crapper in the 18th century (leading us of course to call the restroom both the John and the Crapper… Apparently we really DON'T ever outgrow potty humor.), but was probably actually invented by a British watchmaker around 1596, for Queen Elizabeth I. It wasn't until 1857, however, that toilet paper was invented, however, begging the question of what people DID for nearly 300 years when using the Crapper.
I have read a number of articles on the subject of the "Debate", which centers around how you hang a roll of toilet paper on the paper holder. The two options are of course TOWARD or AWAY, as pictured below.
TOWARD AWAY
At first I was shocked to find that most people had a preference. Being someone who completely refuses to own a sponge because of the germs they collect, and who has determined that there is a precise order in which you put the silverware in the dishwasher, you would think I had a preference along these lines as well. But sadly, I just always figured it was a "crap shoot" as to which way the roll faced.
You will note, I could not resist the use of the parentheses there. Apparently we really DON'T ever outgrow potty humor.
But as I have come to understand, not only do most people think there is a correct way and an incorrect way, most people feel that the correct way is the opposite from what I would have guessed. And there is great debate to be found all over the Internet concerning types of toilet paper roll hangers and how to correctly fill them.
Having now read dozens of these articles, I am interested to complete this article and research whether or not there is a correct way to use a wash cloth, vegetable peeler, funnel, doorknob, or bar of soap. But I digress…
A lot of thought has been put into the types of roll hangers, which include sunken, flush-mounted (Hehehe they said flush. Apparently we really DON'T ever outgrow potty humor.), hanging-arm, covered, spring-loaded and gravity loaded. Additionally, there is also consideration of the one-handed and two-handed tear.
Most arguments seemed to center around cleanliness, which if you have read my previous articles, you KNOW the roll-holder could well be the grungiest place in your household, right up there with the little area rug right in front of your kitchen sink where we all keep our salmonella farm. But again I digress… The common thinking here is that the toilet paper should be touching as little of the holder or wall as possible to decrease the amount of germs it comes in contact with, before it, uh, wipes your ass. Well, I'm all for less germs, even if they are on my backside. This goal would necessitate a "TOWARD" orientation of your toilet paper roll.
Another popular argument is the line-of-sight rule, where most people seem concerned that there will generally be much confusion in the middle of the night, when we all might get up in the dark to use the restroom and temporarily forget how a toilet paper roll holder operates. This argument would state that you want the most amount of available paper to be in your line of sight, also necessitating a "TOWARD" orientation.
One of the problems I have with this orientation is of course the presence of felines in our household. I would like to think that, even in the dark of night when I am at my most confused, I am more capable of operating a toilet paper roll holder than my cat. Because of this, I would have to invert this line-of-sight argument to try to hide as much of the paper from my 4-legged friends as possible.
Another consideration is the amount of toilet paper actually used. In general, neat-freakishness aside, I feel we used entirely too much of this ingenious commodity in my household. Therefore, having a roll whose available tissue is actually more in contact with the wall, would be a good thing. In this case, the drag produced by the usual one-handed tear on a roll in contact with the wall, would cause us to use less sheets per swipe than a free-flowing roll.
Add to this the fact that, being slightly OCD and thus actually cleaning my roll-holder; and the fact that, after all, it's my bum I'm wiping here, and it's hard to imagine anything more dirty… I then have to disagree with conventional wisdom here, and say that I feel the roll should be facing "AWAY".
There is a great video about this entire topic available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owCElE3YkHk
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