Usually, I buy the cheap single-ply, 1000-sheets-per-roll stuff. But the last time I was at the store, they were out of that, and so I had to buy a 12-pack of double-ply. The packaging prominently states “12 mega-rolls = 48 regular rolls”.
OK, so these rolls I bought are apparently “mega rolls”, and apparently each of them has four times as much as a “regular roll”. But if you read the fine print, each of these rolls is 286 sheets. That implies that a “regular roll” is… less than 72 sheets? Or maybe 143 single-ply sheets, 1/7 of my usual rolls? Has anyone, ever, in the history of toilet paper, made a roll so small? Where does one find this fabled “regular roll” of toilet paper?
Or is the label meant to imply that what I bought are the “regular rolls”, and they’re telling me that I should instead have bought the “mega rolls”? That’s… actually close to reasonable numbers, if you ignore the plies and call one of the thousand-sheet rolls a “mega roll”. But that’s horribly dishonest advertising.
I think the bolded bit is the operative word here. As near as I can tell in 10 mins of googling (so take it for what its worth) there is no standard dimensions for a roll of TP, other than width. So package verbiage like “mega roll” or “ultra roll” or “equal to x regualr rolls” is just marketing BS. Since there appears to be no standardized industry definition of a “regualr roll,” all language about how any given roll is “mega,” “ultra,” or what have you is just marketing.
Having said that there are notably smaller rolls available for sale. During the height of the TP shortages a couple years ago (really, that long ago now?) I saw those small rolls at places like 7Eleven and the dollar stores occasionally. Now I see them in the camping supplies section of my local department store. Same width as any other roll but smaller diameter and obviously fewer sheets. They tend to be cheaper but, like so many things in life, you’re getting what you’re paying for.
I will add that my house was built in 1967 and the master bathroom has the toilet paper holder recessed into the wall. Most rolls of TP don’t fit in it, their diameter is too wide. Apparently TP rolls used to be smaller on average than they are today so I suppose the “mega roll” isnt 100% marketing – rolls are bigger than they used to be. But that doesnt mean there’s actually an agreed-upon industry standard being adhered to.
A friend of mine interacts with lots of shady people. The kind who can get you a new-in-box DVD player for $15, but you don’t get a receipt.
He once had one of his friends pay him for work with four giant crates of toilet paper, the kind of industrial toilet paper you’d find in a turnpike rest stop.
He couldn’t get rid of the stuff. He gave me a roll. You could read a newspaper through it and it didn’t fit on a dispenser. It wasn’t even perforated! It’s what I think of when I read “regular” roll.
Are you sure you got the numbers right? I have a 12-pack of Angel Soft 2-ply TP in my cupboard and indeed it advertises “12 mega rolls = 48 regular rolls”. But these rolls have 429 sheets each. For the entire 12-pack, it says it is 543 square feet.
There is an asterisk with some fine print, and it says “compared to Angel Soft regular roll”. However, when I look at the Angel Soft product locator, the smallest roll appears to be the “double roll” (there is double, family, jumbo, and mega). It is a little fishy to compare to a product that doesn’t seem to exist…
Well, it looks like for Angel Soft at least, they have reduced sheet counts.
Did you reduce the number of sheets on the roll? Why?
We removed sheets because it allows the product to increase in thickness and still fit on most roll holders. We have also added more rolls to mega pack so you get a similar number of sheets per pack.
They also don’t even offer the double rolls anymore:
Why can’t I find the family roll or double roll packs anymore?
We recently rolled out some changes to simplify our product line and as a result no longer offer the double/family rolls sizes. We continue to offer our long-lasting mega rolls and have increased the thickness of the mega roll sheet to the highest level in Angel Soft history. Our updated mega product is similar to what you’ve purchased in the past, and the mega roll offers more value for our dollar. We hope that you’ll give one of our mega roll packs a try!
My 12-pack was bought a few years ago. I don’t go through TP very quickly.
I do not believe them when they say they removed sheets so that they fit in more TP holders. This is 100% shrinkflation, like Cadbury Egggate (hey, a legitimate word with three gs in a row!).
I don’t think the standard 4-1/2" width is even a thing anymore. They are slowly making them more narrow and also making the diameter of the cardboard tubes larger.
I contend that Scott 1000 sheet one ply is a ‘regular roll’ of toilet paper. It’s use is widespread, I’m sure Scott employs excellent quality control procedures to guarantee consistency in the rolls, and it’s metric. How do you get an SI unit defined?
Definitely agreed In the early days of the COVID pandemic, when toilet paper was super-scarce, I bought a whole case of institutional toilet paper (for use by schools, businesses, etc.) on Amazon. We tried one roll, and it was so rough and unpleasant that we didn’t use the rest of the case, keeping it for “dire emergencies.” We still have it; I need to donate it somewhere.
Yeah, I can see it if they have some special line of “regular” that they sell almost none of, and they’re officially comparing to that, but you wouldn’t think that comparison to a figment would even be legal.
I dug into the back of my pantry and found my emergency lockdown toilet paper. The package says two-ply, 176 sheets, 59 sq. ft. The roll is a shade less than 3.25" in diameter.
I’m not sure whether the 176 sheets are actually 176 sheets of two-ply, or two strips of 88 sheets stuck together to make two-ply, And the size of an individual square is 4"x4". I suspect the “regular” roll of toilet paper is the absolute smallest one found in the absolute lowest-rent convenience store.
