Roll Over

Over on my pal Mark Evanier's website he has an article here about the proper way to mount a roll of toilet paper.  Yes, sometimes websites do tackle the knotty issues of the day.  As we are here, following up upon Mark.

As Mark notes, based on the original patent for a roll of toilet paper, the only proper way to have your roll is with the paper running with a front overhang.  Thereby proving the point to which he heartily agrees.  And writes, as well -- “I can't think of any reason to have it hang down the back “
 
Well…as I wrote to my friend, I shall give him one.
 
Years ago – maybe 20 or more – I was watching local news here in Los Angeles, and they did a segment on the best way to install toilet paper.  (See?  Even television thought this was a knotty issue of the day...) And what they said was -- hang it down the back.
 
And yes, they had a reason.  If you have young kids in the house, they’ll sit at the toilet, stare at the roll, and usually get bored or curiously and start swiping at it, Thwacking down on the roll.  And if the toilet paper is hanging in the front, as the patent says it should, it will unravel and keep doing so endlessly as long as the kid continues hitting the roll.  However, if the paper is hanging down the back, the kid can swipe at roll all day, and it will simply spin – not a single square of toilet paper will unravel.
 
Of course, if one doesn’t have any little kids, or expect any in the house (or doesn't have any pets which might make a play for that attractively-spinning roll), then this doesn’t matter.  But there you have it – an actual reason to have it hang down in the back.  And it’s one I’ve remembered and used for years.