# Reasons it is sometimes OK to have the toilet paper roll in backwards **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 15, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568 "2019-06-15T16:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/41 "2019-06-17T00:40:10Z")
You can find the short loose end in the front easier. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/42 "2019-06-17T00:57:21Z")
My cats don’t care which way it hangs. They will have fun with the paper towel too. You gotta keep your eye on them. My biggest fear is the water faucets. You turn on the faucets for more than 1/2 second and here they come running. The male Siamese is watching every thing I do. He will figure it out. He uses the the toilet when he poops. So far he hasn’t complained about how the paper is unrolling. I’m trying to teach him to flush, just like a man, never flushes:) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/43 "2019-06-17T01:30:24Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Ours are always ensconced in [one of these](https://www.google.com/search?q=toilet+roll+doll&oq=toilet+roll+do&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j69i60j0l2.5793j0j7&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=Fvyqd7kzSO1MVM:), as nature intended. So your toilet paper is the equivalent of a drag queen? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/44 "2019-06-17T11:35:43Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Oh dear god. Please don’t tell me you people actually hang your toilet rolls from the wall. That is _so_ déclassé. > > Ours are always ensconced in [one of these](https://www.google.com/search?q=toilet+roll+doll&oq=toilet+roll+do&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j69i60j0l2.5793j0j7&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=Fvyqd7kzSO1MVM:), as nature intended. Those are supposed to be for the unopened roll. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/45 "2019-06-17T14:15:21Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Those are supposed to be for the unopened roll. Nonsense. All one needs is a collection of these exquisite ladies in ever decreasing dress sizes as the roll is used, all the way down to Liz Hurley in **[that](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/celebrities/news/a21092624/elizabeth-hurley-versace-dress-hugh-grant/)** dress. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/46 "2019-06-17T14:15:49Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > You can find the short loose end in the front easier. This is what I was going to say. When I’m up in the middle of the night for a potty break I don’t turn on any lights. I also try to keep my eyes partially closed (thinking I won’t wake up as much :rolleyes:) So it’s much easier to “paw” at the top of the roll to get the end to unwind - somewhat like a cat I guess! ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/47 "2019-06-17T15:05:52Z")
Here in Taiwan, the toilet paper is just tissue paper and comes in plastic instead of a box. So you take it from the top. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/48 "2019-06-19T11:30:53Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I like the vertical style, myself. Sidesteps the whole question, and much easier to change the paper. > > Can’t find a picture of the ones I’ve got, but [here’s](https://www.google.com/search?q=vertical+toilet+paper+holder&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=firefox-b-1-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAgYq5qOziAhVEp1kKHXtODQUQsAR6BAgIEAE&biw=1009&bih=518) some examples. Yeah, sure, but do you unroll it clockwise or counterclockwise as seen from above? It is not a trivial matter. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/49 "2019-06-19T11:54:41Z")
Tested in the loo at the university dorm. Mounting the roll as Under results in 12% less paper usage over time than mounting the roll as Over. Tested in both male and female dorms. 12 male + 40 female loos, over a period of 3 months. Fully random roll orientation each day, computer-generated. Total of more than 5000 rolls sampled. Hey, I had to do _something_ for my Third year Statistics practical. So anyone advocating for Over… You are just a shill for the waste-paper industry, and have been brainwashed by their ads advocating Over placement. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken_1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/50 "2019-06-19T14:15:28Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Next you’ll be saying its okay to put ketchup on a hot dog. :rolleyes: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! (unless you’re age 8 or under) ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568/51 "2019-06-19T14:30:06Z")
My apartment’s bathroom is just a little too small, and the toilet is consequently just a little too close to the wall. If the toilet paper unspools the “normal” way, I think it makes the space look and feel even more cramped than it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-it-is-sometimes-ok-to-have-the-toilet-paper-roll-in-backwards/835568.md?page=2)