Unwind direction of toilet paper

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Variant 1: The end of the paper hanging forward
Variant 2: End of paper hanging backwards
Standard roll holder in Germany - the unrolling direction "backwards" is not possible due to the design, as the cover would block the unrolling

The unwinding direction of toilet paper occurs in two variants when the toilet paper roll is suspended horizontally . It can be carried out to the front (overhanging) or to the rear (hanging down). The choice of the unwinding direction depends on the individual preference of the person who puts a new paper roll on the unwind bar after the old one has been used up. In hotel toilets, however, the variant that overhangs to the front is generally used, as this is the only way to indicate that the toilet is being cleaned by folding the first sheet of paper . In the United States, the question of the right direction is repeatedly raised (“The Great Toilet Paper Roll Debate”).

public perception

Research into roll direction preferences has been conducted several times in the United States. A 1995 survey by KRC Research and Consulting found that 59% of respondents preferred the forward-hanging variant and 29% preferred the inverted form of suspension. According to a further investigation, carried out by the sanitary technology manufacturer American Standard from Piscataway ( New Jersey ), 1826 participants preferred the front variant over 1256 supporters of the rear-hanging suspension.

In 1986 a reader brought up the topic for the Chicago Tribune's "Ask Ann Landers" advice column . Eppie Lederer (1918–2002), who responded under the pseudonym “Ann Landers” at the time, referred to the direction she preferred to roll backwards and asked for other opinions. Within a short period of time, the editors received 15,000 letters, most of which criticized their advice - whereupon the columnist changed her mind and recommended the readers to scroll forward. A few years later, Lederer named the question of the roll direction as one of the most controversial issues in the long history of her column.

The marketing department of Cottonelle , a brand of the hygiene products manufacturer Kimberly-Clark , sparked another “Great Toilet Paper Roll Debate” in the United States in early 2010 as part of an advertising campaign (“The Cottonelle Roll Poll”). On the packaging of the products, consumers were asked to vote on the better roll direction by mobile phone. The campaign was also able to activate more than 500,000 participants and re-initiate a nationwide debate on the subject thanks to the efforts of the actor couple Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott , who pledged to roll in their toilets in the future based on a majority vote. The result of the vote resulted in a 72 percent majority in favor of the forward roll direction.

The Cottonelle - media hype was renewed by an article published in July 2010, approximately 3500 words comprehensive products for "Toilet Paper Orientation" in the English Wikipedia. This article has received several media coverage in the United States, including the Huffington Post , because of its scholarly presentation, each with more than 100 footnotes and references . An American online portal for engineering education, OnlineEngineeringDegree , published for the first time mathematically-looking infographics on various questions relating to the rolling direction discussion.

Arguments for the respective rolling directions

Forward:

  • When gripping the loose end, it avoids touching the wall and thus the potential ingestion of dirt or germs with the hand
  • Allows the user to quickly identify the loose end
  • Easier access
  • Allows the paper to be torn off with one hand by pulling the end of the paper diagonally towards the wall (provided that the roll is against the wall that is not too smooth and is still relatively full and therefore significantly heavier than the roll bar)
  • Possibility of marking toilet cleaning in hotels by means of triangular folding
  • Corresponds to the unwinding method provided by the manufacturers and matches the corresponding paper samples or prints

To the rear:

  • Hides the loose end, giving it a more closed impression
  • Reduction of unwanted rolling by children, pets or unintentional body contact
  • Allows the paper to unwind faster
  • Less effort required to unroll

Trivia

As early as 1891, Seth Wheeler registered a US patent, the subject of which is the suspension of a roll of tear-off toilet paper. The unwinding direction with the paper end to the front is clearly shown in the figures.

A toilet paper roll holder has been produced in the United States since 1996 which, by means of a joint in the bracket holder, enables the roll to be turned by 180 degrees and thus easily switched to the other direction. Jay Leno presented such a role reverser on the Tonight Show in 1999 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Over or Under: The Great Toilet Paper Conundrum. Article in the blog of the Sandman Hotel Group from March 29, 2012 (English).
  2. ↑ Ann Landers dies at 83. In: Oakland Tribune, June 23, 2002 (English).
  3. ^ Toilet Paper Debate Gets Rolling Again. In: Chicago Tribune of November 19, 1989 (English).
  4. ↑ a b How Does America Roll? Cottonelle Brand Teams With Tori and Dean to End the Age-Old Debate: Over or Under? Kimberly-Clark's press release on the January 27, 2010 campaign.
  5. ↑ Peter Dräger: Digitales Shopper Marketing (online / offline). In: Ulrich Dirk Frey, Gabriele Hunstiger, Peter Dräger (eds.): Shopper Marketing: With Shopper Insights for effective brand management right up to the POS. Springer-Verlag, 2010, pp. 247-272, ISBN 3-8349-6460-3 ( p. 256 ).
  6. ↑ Alexis Kleinman, Maxwell Strachan: The 49 Most Entertaining Wikipedia Entries Ever Created. On Huffington Post January 14, 2015.
  7. ^ A b Infographic Of The Day: The Great Toilet Paper Debate. ( Memento of March 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Article on the Fast Company website of June 27, 2011 (English).
  8. ↑ For the “physics of rolling” see the chapter on role-playing in Wolfgang Bürger: The Sailor's Dream in Calm - New physical gadgets from Professor Bürger's cabinet. Birkhäuser, Basel 1998, ISBN 978-3-7643-5879-2 ( doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-0348-5006-3_10 , E-Reprint, Springer, 2014), p. 87 ff.
  9. ↑ a b c Markus Brauer: Do you grasp it from the front or the back? In: StN.de - Stuttgarter Nachrichten. Stuttgarter Nachrichten Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, May 22, 2015, accessed on March 11, 2020 .
  10. ^ Seth Wheeler: Wrapping or toilet paper roll . US459516 A, September 15, 1891 ( google.com [accessed June 23, 2017]).
  11. ↑ The Patented Tilt-A-Roll Toilet Paper Dispenser. ( Memento of March 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) On marketlaunchers.com (English-language website for commercial inventions).
  12. ↑ Steve Greenberg: Gadget Nation: A Journey Through the Eccentric World of Invention. ISBN 978-1-4027-3686-5 , Sterling Publishing, 2008, p. 149 (English).