Which Way Should Toilet Paper Face

 So, there's this fantastic Wikipedia list descriptively titled Wikipedia:Unusual Articles. I just remember it as "That Wikipedia List." It's a collection of hundreds of articles about unusual, unexpected, and unbelievable subjects. No matter what link you click, it's bound to be interesting. For that reason, every week I'm going to click on a new link and teach you a little bit more about our amazing world. Which way should toilet paper hang? Over or under? It’s a point of international contention that’s been touched on by All in the Family, Archie, and the Simpsons and creates rifts in hundreds of marriages every year. To understand the argument, let’s look at the pros for each orientation. We’ll start with over. Perhaps the greatest objective advantage of this setup is that it reduces the chance that your knuckles will run against the wall. This is more than an unpleasant experience. It could transfer dangerous germs, especially if you’re in a public restroom. Over also makes it easier to grasp the end since the loose end is visually distinguished and further away from the wall. Hotels, Cruise Ships, Office Buildings, and others can also fold the toilet paper to indicate that the room has been cleaned in the over orientation. Now for the under orientation, this way arguably has a tidier appearance since the loose end of toilet paper is more hidden from view. It also makes it more difficult for toddlers or pets to unravel the roll if batting at it. RV owners also report that the roll hung under is less likely to unravel on its own while driving. As a quick sidenote, I’ll bring you a real letter exchange between a customer and the chairman of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher. The customer wrote, “Last week in my journey to SFO someone put the toilet paper in wrong. Any damn fool knows the papers come out the bottom of the roll and not over the top. I couldn't figure out how to correct the error …" Herb responded, “Dear Jim: What the hell were you doing upside down in our lavatory?” Back to the debate. In general, the public prefers toilet paper hanged over. Most surveys find between 60-70% of individuals say they put their toilet paper in the over orientation. What’s more interesting, however, is to look at who prefers which orientation. Older people tend to have a higher preference to hang their toilet paper over, while middle aged people are most likely to hang their tp under. What’s most interesting is to look at preferences by socio-economic class. Sixty percent of people who earn $50,000 or more prefer the toilet paper over while seventy-three percent of people who earn less than $20,000 annually prefer the toilet paper under. When the researcher Barry Sinrod was asked what this means, he responded, “I don’t know, but it’s sure interesting.” One other research project concluded that liberals prefer over while conservatives prefer under. Let’s now go a little deeper. Therapist Gilda Carle theorized that the way someone hangs their toilet paper can tell you something about their personality. She says, “If you roll over, you like taking charge, crave organization and are likely to over-achieve. If you roll under, you're laid-back, dependable and seek relationships with strong foundations.” On another note, the Butler of Princes Diana Paul Burrell was asked which method is better and said, "Of course it should be over. If it were down, it would unravel all over the floor. Royals don't have that problem though, because they have sheets of tissue which are fanned out into an attractive display and sit in a box.” So that’s one way to solve the issue, or we could just look at the patent. Oh, well that settles it. It was made to hang over.