People will argue all day about the best way to hang toilet paper on the dispenser. Are you an Over or an Under? Or maybe you prefer a vertical orientation to stop the arguing. According to a survey taken by Today I Found Out, the majority prefers the Over orientation to the Under. And everyone has their reasons, which vary widely.
Others argue that because Seth Wheeler’s 19th century patent for rolled toilet paper explicitly shows toilet paper hung in the Over orientation that this proves this is the “correct” way. But we’re guessing those same people aren’t caring that they pronounce UFO as U-F-O instead of “yoofo” as the coiner of said term intended, among countless other examples like this where the creator of something’s thoughts were ignored. So we’re guessing the only reason individuals putting forth this argument care what the fittingly named Mr. Wheeler drew on his patent application is that it vaguely supports their position. In the end, what the original creator of something thought was best doesn’t inherently matter to what’s actually superior. If it did, we’d all be advocating for Greedo shooting first and using bubble wrap as wallpaper which is what it was originally invented for.
On the flipside, advocates for the Under orientation note that it tends to provide a slightly more tidy appearance rather than just dangling out there in its best imitation of a kilted Scotsman. And, most importantly there, if one has beings of the feline or human parasite persuasion, the more concealed Under orientation tends to prove less tempting for these two groups to play with.
However, it turns out there is a difference in the best way to hang toilet paper in public restrooms, which has to do with bacterial contamination. And there's some extra information about bacterial contamination in public vs. private privies at Today I Found Out.
(Image credit: Darren Foreman)
If one has residents or guests that wear nail polish, over prevents colored streaks on the wall.