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Over or under? Surprisingly, there actually is a 'correct' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?

Humans have debated things large and small over the millennia, from the democracy to breastfeeding in public to how often people ought to wash their sheets. But perhaps the most silly-yet-surprisingly-heated household debate is the one in which we argue over which way to hang the toilet paper roll.

The "over or under" question has plagued marriages and casual acquaintances alike for over 100 years, with both sides convinced they have the soundest reasoning for putting their toilet paper loose end out or loose end under. Some people feel so strongly about right vs. wrong TP hanging that they will even flip the roll over when they go to the bathroom in the homes of strangers.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not merely an inconsequential preference. There is actually a "correct" way to hang toilet paper, according to health experts as well as the man who invented the toilet paper roll in the first place.

First, let's be clear about what we're even talking about here with a visual. In the image below, left is "over" and right is "under."

Toilet paper hung "over" (left) and "under" (right)

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

So which one is the right way? According to health experts, "over" is the way to go.

"One key to maintaining a hygienic washroom is minimising contact between people and surfaces," Dr. Christian Moro, associate professor of health sciences and medicine at Bond University on Australia's Gold Coast, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "Depending on the type of roll holder, [hanging the toilet paper "over"] often lowers the chance that a user will touch the wall behind when fishing for paper, leaving germs behind on that surface which can be spread to the next user."

Picture it: Grabbing the end of the toilet paper when it's hung "over" means you only touch the part of the toilet paper you're going to use. When it's "under," you sometimes have to fish for it or scrape your fingers on the wall in order to grab the loose end. In addition to whatever might be on people's hands already, think about all the people who wipe twice, potentially transferring fresh fecal matter or other bacteria to the wall on the second pass, which then get picked up by other people who inadvertently touch that wall when trying to grab their TP.

Theoretically, we all should have become better hand washers during the pandemic, scrubbing with soap for the full 20 seconds it takes to remove bacteria. But I wouldn't be willing to bet on it.

And touching any surface in a bathroom is pretty nasty, according to a study from the University of Colorado. As Inc. reported: "Using a high-tech genetic sequencing tool, researchers identified 19 groups of bacteria on the doors, floors, faucet handles, soap dispensers, and toilets of 12 public restrooms in Colorado — six men’s restrooms and six women’s restrooms. Many of the bacteria strains identified could be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces."

Bacteria means things like e.coli, which is a common source of food poisoning and one of the most common bacteria found on bathroom surfaces in the study. If you've ever had a bout of food poisoning, I'm sure you'll agree that a toilet paper roll hanging preference isn't worth risking it.

But sanitary health concerns aren't the only argument for the "over" camp. After all, the original patent for the toilet paper roll, issued in 1891, clearly shows the TP in the "over" position. Thank you for the clarity right from the get go, Mr. Wheeler.

The toilet paper roll was patented by Seth Wheeler in 1891.

Public Domain

Now, before the "under" folks come running with their pitchforks, there are some understandable exceptions to the "over" rule. Namely: cats and kids.

If you have a furry friend or a tiny toddler who likes to unroll the toilet paper roll, "over" makes it super fun for them, while "under" stops them in their tracks. For many people, cats and kids are the primary motivator of their TP hanging habits.

That doesn't change the fact that "over" is actually the "correct" way to hang toilet paper according to health science and the inventor's intention, of course, but "under" is certainly preferable to having a pile of TP on the floor.

Now go forth, do that with information as you will, and try to make peace with your over vs. under rivals.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Engineer writes bulletproof rant on why 'over' is the optimal toilet paper position

Tensile strength? Alignment stability? I'm convinced.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

The great toilet paper debate refuses to die. Whether to hang the loose end of the roll "over" or "under" has been inspiring heated disagreements for years. Some years, one faction or the other gains ground, but the opposing view never really gets snuffed out. It quietly regroups and comes back with a vengeance when we least expect it, and the toilet paper wars continue on.

Over the decades, many different kinds of experts have been enlisted into the conflict. Psychologists, anthropologists, marriage counselors, and doctors have been asked to weigh in on this debate repeatedly, each bringing a different perspective into why we all have such a strong preference on this topic, and the pros and cons of each.

Now the physical science experts are weighing in. An engineer from BFW Marcum recently unleashed an epic, totally unnecessary, and quite convincing rant about why there's definitively one correct way to orient your TP.

Elya, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Here's what the engineer had to say about the toilet paper over vs under debate.

"You—the dregs of society that put toilet paper with the flap situated under—you know what you’re doing is wrong," the screed begins. "You must feel it in your bones—some kind of primitive instinctual whispering in your ear. Just look at it—flapping in the breeze of your bathroom like some kind of sad white flag of surrender."

Then we get into the technical, engineer-y reasons that over is supposedly best.

1. Friction Coefficient: The coefficient of friction between the paper and the user’s hand is significantly lower when the paper is hanging over.
2. Tensile Strength: The tensile strength of the paper is optimized when it is hanging over, as the weight of the roll pulls the paper taut. This reduces the risk of tearing and provides a more consistent wipe.
We’ve all fallen victim to pulling off a ragged, possibly too-long length of toilet paper. Not only is it wasteful, but it could also very well ruin your plumbing.
3. Optimal Dispensing Angle: Studies have shown the optimal angle for dispensing toilet paper is between 10 and 15 degrees from horizontal, which is only achievable when the paper is hanging over. This ensures that the user can easily grab the paper and tear it off without awkward twisting or bending.
How do you explain to your peers that your carpal tunnel is not from your desk job, but from the terrible and unnatural way in which you hang your toilet paper?
4. Alignment Stability: When the paper is hanging over, the roll’s natural tendency is to unroll smoothly, reducing the risk of misalignment or uneven dispensing. This results in more efficient use of paper and less waste.

In short, you're more like to get a clean tear, less likely to waste paper, and less likely to get the roll all tangled up with the over method.

Is this all a bunch of gobbledygook, or is this real science? I'm not sure, but either way, it's pretty convincing. It definitely feels like hanging the flap over makes it easier to grab and tear without the roll spinning endlessly, and now I understand (kind of) why that might be.

Lest we actually settle the matter for good, it's worth noting that one physicist interviewed by Vice disagrees and says that, at least when it comes to mechanics, over or under toilet paper is exactly the same.

“Whether you hang toilet paper facing against the wall or facing forward, the rotational kinetic energy you impart on the roll is the same, and it requires the same amount of torque. They’re mirror images of each other, which means the amount of energy you have to expend is the same.” Brian Wecht said. Another physics professor interviewed in the piece more or less agreed, but added that the human element that comes into play is a wild card. The way people approach the roll, whether they're right or left handed, and how much force they apply when they pull and tear, it all factors in.

(I love the idea of highly educated scientists spending their time thinking about problems like this. Did you know that a nuclear physicist once shared a hilarious complex formula to determine if it's better to fold or wad or your toilet paper before wiping?)

Health experts have agreed for years that "over" is also the more hygienic alignment.

Apparently when the flap hangs behind or under the roll, it's harder to grab without accidentally rubbing your hand against the wall. And let's not even talk about the different kinds of bacteria and germs that live on bathroom walls.

Of course, with good hand-washing, this shouldn't be that big of a deal, but it's still a little icky.

The final piece of evidence lies in the original patent for the toilet paper roll, submitted in 1891 by a Mr. Seth Wheeler. You can clearly see that the inventor intended the free end to hang in the front where it would be easy to see and grab.

toilet paper patent image Public Domain

Ultimately, even if the physicists and engineers and NASA scientists all agree that hanging the toilet paper "over" is slightly better, we're talking about a very small difference in efficiency here. If you like the under method because it looks cleaner or keeps your kids from pulling at the roll, you probably aren't worried about a 1% differential in tensile strength and coefficient of friction.

The scientists might know physics, but they know little of the human heart. If hanging your toilet paper rolls under just feels right to you, don't let these nerds tell you otherwise.

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Education

Popular life hack has people putting their toilet paper in the refrigerator

No, we're not joking.

via Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels and SmartFoxLifeHacks/TikTok

Have you heard the new toilet paper hack?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, people took toilet paper—especially its availability—for granted. Everyone who experienced those hectic days probably has a new appreciation when they roll down the aisle of their local supermarket and see fully stocked shelves of TP.

A new trend shows that people aren’t only appreciating their toilet paper but finding new ways to use it that go beyond its traditional use: keeping toilet paper in their refrigerators. The most common reason is that it is an effective and affordable way to keep them smelling fresh and clean. It seems that TP’s absorbent qualities go far beyond the bathroom.

The new practice has been popularized on TikTok, where most new life hack trends seem to be springing up these days.

In late September 2023, TikTok user @Ezenwanyibackup shared a toilet-paper-in-the-fridge hack, and it received over 1400 views. The hack involves creating a paste out of baking soda and applying it to the top of the roll. "Now, just stick it in your fridge," the TikToker said. "This simple hack is going to neutralize all the smell and moisture that messes up your fridge, keeping your food fresh and tasty for way longer."

@ezenwanyibackup
Just put a roll of toilet paper in your fridge, and you won't have that problem anymore! #ezenwanyibackup #foryoupage #homemaderemedies #healthy #homemaderecipes #foryou #diy #naturalrecipes #recipe #fypシ゚viral @ezenwanyibackup @ezenwanyibackup @ezenwanyibackup @This Recipe @Queen ezenwanyi1

Smartfoxlifehacks has also helped promote the new trend in kitchen cleanliness with his video, where he shares how he keeps toilet paper in his fridge. He recommends that people change their rolls every 3 to 4 weeks. He claims the "trick" comes from the hotel industry because the toilet paper “absorbs odors."

@smartfoxlifehacks
This is a secret Trick from Hotels… 😱🦊 #lifehack #tipsandtricks #cleaningtricks #cleaninghacks

Another TikToker, @Drewfrom63rd1, has a unique use for the toilet paper in his fridge. He chills it and then uses it as an ice pack to keep his food cold. “You can use this as an ice pack,” he says, pulling a roll out of his fridge. “It does really work. It lasts about 8 hours.”

@drewfrom63rd1
Replying to @wgez

So, how does it work?

House Digest explains why toilet paper is so effective at keeping your fridge smelling fresh:

“For obvious reasons, toilet paper is designed to be extremely absorbent,” Brooke Younger writes atHouse Digest. “However, it doesn't just absorb liquids on contact; it can also pull them from the surrounding air. If you've ever touched your bathroom's toilet paper roll after a steamy shower, you might notice that it feels a bit damp. Placing a clean toilet paper roll in your fridge will absorb some of the internal humidity and, with it, those stinky particles.”

The site adds that toilet paper can also help keep dark, damp parts of your house, such as a closet or basement, stay fresh, too.

The toilet paper hack is effective, and it’s also a great way to save money. According to The New York Times Wirecutter, a roll of TP costs around $5—$7 on average in the US, which is much cheaper than a refrigerator deodorizer that can set you back between $10—$20, depending on the brand.

Now, for the sake of all the people who love this hack, let’s hope that word spreads so that no one gets any side-eye for having stacks of TP in their fridge. But, we should also hope it doesn’t become so popular that people start hoarding toilet paper again. That wasn’t fun the first time.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Education

The surprising places you can't flush toilet paper, even with fully flushing toilets

Greece, Thailand and dozens of other countries have fully flushing toilets but "no flushing the TP" rules.

Photo by Miriam Alonso/Pexels

Even with fully flushing toilets, you can't always flush toilet paper.

In the U.S., it's normal in women's restrooms to see signs that say "Do not flush feminine products," so if you're traveling internationally and you see a sign that says not to flush paper down the toilet, you might assume it means the same thing.

It doesn't. If you're traveling abroad and you see a "no paper in the toilet" sign, it usually means all paper—including the toilet paper you use to wipe with.

My first time experiencing this reality was in Indonesia. The friend I was visiting lived in a large luxury home, modern in every way—except you had to toss your toilet paper into a bin instead of flushing it. Even rustic campsite pit toilets in the U.S. allow you to put toilet paper in them, so it went against every instinct I had not to toss the TP in the toilet after using it and put it in the little bin next to the toilet instead.

Then I encountered the same thing in Thailand, then in Greece, then in Patagonia in South America. These were all places with American-style flushing toilets, so it was unexpected that TP flushing was a no-no. If this is the norm in such vastly different regions, how common is "no TP flushing" around the world?

Surprisingly common for the 21st century, actually. As many advancements as we've made in engineering and technology, there are still lots of established plumbing systems underground that don't handle anything other than onesies and twosies very well.

For people from always-flush-the-TP countries, the inability to flush toilet paper can come as a shock, especially when the toilets seem no different than the ones at home. It's confusing that the toilet paper will physically flush down at the source, it just shouldn't be flushed because of what can happen on down the line.

In Greece, for example, the plumbing pipes are only two inches in diameter, compared to four inches in the U.S., which means paper clogs the pipes much more easily. Our Airbnb host in Athens told us if we smell a terrible sewage smell and hear a big motor running somewhere in the neighborhood, it's because people had flushed toilet paper and the sewage system had to be pumped. Brazil apparently has plumbing similar to Greece, and there are plenty of other countries in the same boat.

Where in the world can you flush your toilet paper?

mindofahitchhiker.com

So where are all of these countries? Well, hard to say exactly, as the most recent map I've seen (from mindofahitchiker.com above) is from 2017 based on information from 2012, and things may have changed in some of those countries by now. On this map, the green countries are safe to flush, the orange are "it depends" and the red are generally no-flushers.

Most places where you can't flush paper have signs saying so, but sometimes they're in another language and sometimes there just aren't signs because the assumption is that you know. Thankfully, mindofahitchhiker.com also offers a handy "Flush or not to flush?" flowchart to help you figure it out:

Find out more at mindofahitchhiker.com

Surprisingly, putting TP in a bin isn't as disgusting as I imagined it would be, nor is it stinky like I assumed it would be. In Indonesia and Thailand, nearly all toilets had a "bum gun"—a handheld water sprayer attached to a hose that hung on the side of the toilet—which helped everything feel a bit cleaner on that front. (I loved it so much I bought one to install at home after my trip.) But even without the hoses, the TP bins have plastic liners and usually fliptop lids you open with your foot, so it doesn't really feel as unsanitary as it sounds. And those bins appeared to be emptied frequently almost everywhere I was, so it wasn't any grosser of an experience than using a public restroom in the U.S. (There's also a generally expected level of courtesy, it seems, to make sure your used TP is folded or wadded in such a way as to not gross out other people.)

It may not be ideal and it may fly in the face of our normal habits, but I'm sure we'd all agree that plumbing working properly is important. So if you're traveling to country you've never been to before, do a little research, follow the toilet signs, and when in doubt, toss instead of flush. The locals will thank you.

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Business

More people are using Bamboo toilet paper, a sustainable alternative to traditional TP.

Maybe before the events of 2020, you were taking your toilet paper for granted. But chances are, you aren't anymore. But aside from the shortages earlier in the year, there are larger problems with traditional TP. Specifically, it's pretty bad for the environment. That said, thanks to a company called Reel, it doesn't have to be. That's because their toilet paper is made from bamboo stalks and designed with environmental sustainability in mind.

If you've had any experience with environmentally friendly toilet paper in the past, you might be tempted to stop reading. But contrary to the prevailing stereotypes about eco-conscious TP, Reel is renowned for its quality and comfort -- so much so that the brand has sold more than a million rolls of the stuff and counting. And it's done so without contributing to the monstrous devastation of forests that's associated with the traditional toilet paper industry.

Every roll of Reel toilet paper is made from 100-percent bamboo, and 0 trees. But that's not where the brand's environmental consciousness ends. It even extends to the packaging, which is plastic-free, right down to the tape. No dead trees, no environment-choking plastic, no inks, no dyes, and none of the infamous synthetic compound bisphenol A. Best of all, if you use it, there's no TP-related guilt about the damage your daily bathroom habits might bring to the planet.

Why is using bamboo to make toilet paper better than using trees? For starters, it's the fastest-growing plant in existence, and can grow as much as three feet in just 24 hours. It's harvested once a year and never needs replanting, making it an essentially infinite resource compared to trees, while also using up 30-percent less water. And as you'll feel for yourself once you give Reel a try, bamboo paper is much softer than other papers made from recycled paper or wood fiber, while also retaining bamboo's natural tensile strength, which is said to be even stronger than some types of steel.

Reel Premium Bamboo Toilet Paper

Reel

Reel even has ply-counters covered, too. If you were worried that bamboo toilet paper doesn't give you the thickness and quality you're accustomed to in TP, think again, because each role is generally proportioned with three ply for extra softness. In other words: you're not having to sacrifice comfort for the good of the planet, at least not as far as your toilet paper is concerned.

And Reel's environmental friendliness isn't the only good reason to make the switch. The brand also cuts off a slice of their profits for the funding of sanitation projects in developing nations, so you're helping that important cause with each roll you buy (in addition to helping reduce deforestation and pollution).

Each 24-roll box of Reel premium bamboo toilet paper costs $29.99, but if you're paranoid about running out, they also offer a subscription service that sends a new box to your door automatically every four weeks, eight weeks, or 12 weeks, depending on how often you usually buy. Customers have also reported that each roll of Reel lasts longer than regular toilet paper since it gets the job done with fewer sheets -- another point in favor of bamboo paper..

Your toilet paper doesn't have to kill trees or choke the environment with bulky plastic packaging. There is a better way. To find out more, check out Reel at its official site, and say hello to a new era of environmentally friendly toilet paper that's also comfortable, durable, and a pleasure to have around.

*Upworthy may earn a portion of sales revenue from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.

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We have a small favor to ask of you

toilet paper

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Tensile strength? Alignment stability? I'm convinced.

Here's what the engineer had to say about the toilet paper over vs under debate.

Health experts have agreed for years that "over" is also the more hygienic alignment.

No, we're not joking.

So, how does it work?

Greece, Thailand and dozens of other countries have fully flushing toilets but "no flushing the TP" rules.