
Toilet Paper Orientation - pella
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_paper_orientation
======
tzs
At least with TP orientation there are enough people who do it the "wrong" way
(i.e. not the way your family did it when you were a kid) that you probably
will have seen it done that way at a friend's house.

More interesting, I think, are questions about things that are done in private
so you may have no idea that the way you do them is not universal.

Around 20 years ago, some gaming site had an advice column, and occasionally
someone would write in with a question that had nothing to do with gaming. One
such question was from someone who said he and a bunch of friends were sitting
around talking about random things, and somehow the topic of which direction
to wipe came up. Top to bottom or bottom to top.

The questioner said that all of his friends went one way, and he went the
other, and now they all think he is a freak. He asked the columnist about
this.

She asked around the office, and found that everyone there did it the way the
questioner's friends did.

I asked my friends, and the majority matched that office but there were some
who did it the other way.

Unlike TP orientation, it had never even occurred to me that anyone would pick
the "wrong" direction.

That leads to the question of what other things that are normally done alone
can be done in different ways, and am I doing those things in the best way?

For a while after that I seriously considered subscribing to one of those
"voyeur cam" sites where they have one or more people living in a house
(typically barely legal aged girls...) with 24/7 web cams in every room so
subscribers can watch _everything_ the residents do, not for the usual erotic
reasons but simply to see if other people were doing private things better
than me.

~~~
throw0101a
> _That leads to the question of what other things that are normally done
> alone can be done in different ways, and am I doing those things in the best
> way?_

There are people who _first_ step into the shower, then turn it on.

Instead of turning on the water, waiting a bit and adjusting the temperature,†
and _then_ walking into a comfortable flow of water.

Many of the people in the first group supposedly like baths more. (This topic
came up in some sub-thread on Reddit and and many reads had light bulb moments
about how they've been doing things wrong for decades.)

† Sadly thermostat knobs are not that widespread.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
We put a thermostat on the shower last year and it is brilliant. It solves
this:
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XaHSBg7qcq4](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XaHSBg7qcq4)

~~~
birdyrooster
What does this mean? Does it automatically adjust the flow of hot and cold
water to arrive at the desired temperature?

~~~
tonyedgecombe
Yes.

~~~
birdyrooster
What sorcery is this?

~~~
tonyedgecombe
[https://www.screwfix.com/p/ideal-standard-alto-ecotherm-
surf...](https://www.screwfix.com/p/ideal-standard-alto-ecotherm-surface-
mounted-thermostatic-bath-shower-mixer-tap/10519)

------
11thEarlOfMar
For practical reasons, it's under for me.

The roll doubles as a coffee cup holder. If it's spooled over, and I pull a
sheet, the cup winds up on the floor.

If it's under, and I pull a sheet, the cup is restrained by the wall, no harm
done.

~~~
tomrod
I can't say I can recall ever bringing a coffee cup into a toilet area. Is
this common enough to warrant further consideration?

~~~
mrexroad
I mean, I’ve people say that it just goes right through them... but I’d never
thought to inquire about the latency...

------
killjoywashere
Also, Vim is the one true editor. Emacs is a necessary evil if you have cats
or toddlers.

~~~
jtms
I’ll add to that and say that if you use Emacs instead of Vim you should
probably feel deep existential despair about making such a blatantly incorrect
choice

~~~
yellowapple
It's the other way around: I use Emacs specifically because I perpetually feel
deep existential despair.

------
ImpressiveWebs
> Some people hold strong opinions on the matter; advice columnist Ann Landers
> said that the subject was the most responded to (15,000 letters in 1986) and
> controversial issue in her column's history.

I guess that’s what people did before raging on Twitter.

------
khazhoux
There is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for some brave Silicon Valley
startup to conquer the Holy Grail of TP delivery: the " _double-pull roll_ "
\-- the ability to pull TP down from the front _or_ the back of the roll. Add
in automatic paw-detection, and you're golden.

They said landing on the moon was impossible, too.

------
enahs-sf
I've showed my wife the patent, but it usually leads to me sleeping on the
couch. not worth beleaguering the point.

------
ssivark
I can’t believe this is even a discussion. Over makes it definitely easier for
dexterous one handed operation — for both toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

While we’re in the mood, I’ll have a side of Emacs, and tabs with that. Thank
you very much, anything else?

~~~
bryanlarsen
And the bike shed has to be blue.

------
phkahler
For me a more important issue is where the holder is mounted. I've walked
through some builders new homes and some of them had very spacious bathrooms
with no place to put the TP holder. Like glass on one side and open space or
tile on the other. Even if you opt for stick-on holder some of these places
don't have a good location for it. Ditto for laundry rooms with no place to
hang clothes.

~~~
karatestomp
Free-standing TP holders are a thing. Might be what's intended for those.

------
hairofadog
"Toilet paper hung in improper overhand fashion"
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQod276-7Mo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQod276-7Mo)

I used to feel pretty strongly that "overhand" was correct, but that was when
I was younger and thought I was right about everything and had the charming
affect of correcting people's grammar unsolicited.

I often wondered whether the writer of that Simpsons joke took a stab at
trolling, which is to say they were saying the "Popular" way was incorrect. I
know someone who hangs it underhand specifically because they consider it to
be contrarian.

Having cats is a good reason to hang it underhand, else they'll unspool the
entire thing. I recently adopted a dog who thinks it's hilarious to grab the
entire roll off the spindle and run away with it, so now we have to keep it
hidden away in the cupboard. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

------
rb808
I dont understand why the size of bathroom isn't taken into consideration for
this important debate.

I've been in small bathrooms where your knees are basically touching the wall,
under makes sense because it isn't hanging out. Other American super sized
bathrooms you have to reach to get the paper it makes sense to be over.

------
Someone
_“Over is generally the intended direction of viewing for the manufacturer 's
branding, so patterned toilet paper looks better this way”_

 _“Over won … percent of the vote“_

So, correlation, but also causation? If so, in what direction?

I also see a business opportunity for selling “over” and “under” patterned
toilet paper rolls.

Also, _“By more than 4 to 1, older folks prefer to have their toilet paper
dispense over the front.”_ hints at this being different for younger folks.
Clearly, more research is needed. If age affects preference, do people change
opinion when they get older, is this just a matter of teenagers rebelling
against their parents, did they _teach_ people the one true way to do this
half a century ago, or what?

If you’re looking for a research subject for your Ig Nobel prize, look no
further.

------
dec0dedab0de
I never paid any attention at all, just put it on there however I happened to
be holding the roll at the time. That was until I moved into this house that
has an air vent that will completely unravel all the toilet paper if I use the
under orientation.

------
mdturnerphys
I submitted this same page 6 years ago [0]. It's interesting how different the
comments are this go around.

[0]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7371501](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7371501)

P.S. Can anyone tell why my submission doesn't show up in the "past" search
results for this?

------
sys_64738
I often find when I use people's toilets that I need to fix the toilet roll to
the correct orientation.

------
mynegation
Over. Funny enough, I gave some serious thought to it to make my subconscious
preference explicit and I believe this is about he direction of force
application to tear the sheet.

See, with "over" it is straight down and cardboard roll on a (usually) thinner
holder is already hanging on the axle under gravity and provides immediate
resistance so the tear is immediate.

With "under", application of force will move the roll forward and then - at
best - there is some latency time before tearing force is fully applied. At
worst, the roll starts spinning.

~~~
sixstringtheory
This is why you apply a tearing force in a direction parallel with the axle.

------
harikb
Recommended watching that goes with this [1] - 100 humans Season 1 last
episode on Netflix

[1]
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917628/?ref_=ttep_ep8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917628/?ref_=ttep_ep8)

------
thejynxed
Looking at various patents, TP is supposed to feed over, paper towels are
supposed to feed under.

------
lone_haxx0r
Pulling the paper from the side of the wall is like taking off your shoes by
grabbing the sole.

------
rzimmerman
Under is unambiguously correct if you have a cat.

~~~
kevin_thibedeau
Under places the end close to the wall and other potential sources of
contamination when you reach for it. Over is the one true way of the TP. This
under crap is perpetuated by interior decorators who think hiding
functionality is a virtue.

~~~
JshWright
Over is certainly preferred, but if you have a cat (or a toddler), under is a
necessary evil.

------
shecky
if _I_ had created the internet, it would have been primarily for the purpose
of enabling global discourse on this subject

------
nogabebop23
If you live somewhere with forced air heating, over often has the benefit of
helpfully lifting up the flap for easy grasping.

------
Maskawanian
How about Pyramid on the top of the toilet bowl?

Seriously, whichever way it goes on is the way it is at our home.

------
scruple
I personally describe this to my wife as, "We like beards, not mullets."

------
turtleish
The real unasked question: do you sit or stand when you wipe?

------
rewoi
Toilet paper is gross, civilized people use bidet or wet wipes.

~~~
hactually
Not sure if just being odd but please don't use wet wipes. They are terrible
for plumbing and wider disposal (they're designed for bins, not waterways)

------
throwaway999943
Finally a topic worth of HN.

~~~
psychoslave
Come on, hackers use the three shells!

~~~
sixstringtheory
sh, bash and zsh?

~~~
throw0101a
ksh

------
el_don_almighty
first post - OVER is for humans, UNDER is for prisoners

