# Toilet roll, whither does it hang? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2007, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328 "2007-02-15T10:48:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/21 "2007-02-15T14:30:32Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] As a bachelor I have solved this problem by neatly not bothering to hang it. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Right, who can say it’s one way or the other, when it’s only a cardboard tube? The only paper is on top of the tank. You also have the delema, when they have a floor stand roll holder with the roll sideways. Never right, never wrong, always in limbo. How about one of those where you pull it and it keeps unwinding, because of some weird idiocentcry with the roll or holder. ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/22 "2007-02-15T16:26:39Z")
It doesn’t hang atall. This is because our cats view toilet paper installed in the dispenser as a fun and exciting toy begging to be unrolled, chewed and strewn, while they view an uninstalled roll with the greatest of indifference. C’est la vie. No installed toilet paper in our house.\* \*Unless my mother-in-law does it when she visits - as she invariably does while making disparaging comments about my housekeeping. We inevitably find this out 10 minutes after she does it when one of us goes to use the restroom only to find a stream of toilet paper confetti up and down the hallway, in the bedroom, on the bed, under the bed, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/23 "2007-02-15T16:31:44Z")
Never thought about the consequenses before, and never thought about which way the paper rolled about either :eek: So what will it be? Me smitten and turned into a pilar of salt, or condemned to wearing pink shirts and flashy sunglasses for the rest of my life? ---
**Author:** ![tbdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@tbdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbdi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/24 "2007-02-15T16:32:47Z")
Over the top, the self-evidently natural way for it to be. Why do you under-shot roll hangers hate america? ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/25 "2007-02-15T16:52:20Z")
I was an over the top gal until I got a kitten and was treated to what appeared to be a freak blizzard in my bathroom. Since then, I have been hanging it the other way. If I hang it at all. My dispenser is in an awkward place and it’s really hard to get at, so most of the time, the roll just sits on the back of the tank. However, the hanging towards the wall is a matter of kitty prevention only. I have no strong feelings either way. As long as I can get it off the roll, I don’t care which way it spins. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/26 "2007-02-15T18:55:16Z")
Truly considerate people manage the irresoluble dilemma by installing two dispensers, side by side, one labeled “over the top,” the other labeled “under the bottom.” Myself, I prefer “over the top,” partly because it works better, but also partly because everybody who hangs the roll over the top says it the same way, “over the top.” By contrast, the people who prefer the other orientation cannot agree on a short and equally elegant phrase by which to describe it. “Under the bottom,” “bottom hanging,” “against the wall”… Unite behind a single piece of terminology, people, or your position will never be taken seriously. ---
**Author:** ![InappropriateHumor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb8c5e/32.png) [@InappropriateHumor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InappropriateHumor)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/27 "2007-02-15T20:17:36Z")
I prefer it over the top. It looks nicer to me, and if I can count on it to be that way consistently, it makes my nocturnal potty trips much better. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/28 "2007-02-15T20:57:20Z")
In grade school we had to make toilet paper wreaths for art class. I supose you can hang one of these if you have cats. You bend a coat hanger into a circle, and tie two sheet toilet paper bows onto it until full. This requires a four pack. What an ugly piece of shit, and utter waste of ten to twenty hours of your childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/29 "2007-02-16T03:59:58Z")
Over the top, of course. Unless you have toddlers. Then it just sits over the cabinet, safely out of reach. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/30 "2007-02-16T10:49:01Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] As a bachelor I have solved this problem by neatly not bothering to hang it. 🙂 [/QUOTE] As a single woman, I agree. If I don’t hang it, there are no decisions such as this to be made. Much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/31 "2007-02-16T10:55:56Z")
Over the top for me. My girlfriend was an under-hander, but I soon sorted that out 😉 What I don’t understand is the cat angle. Surely a cat can grab the dangling end just as easily regardless of which side of the roll it’s hanging? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/32 "2007-02-16T11:17:21Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] [QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] I have to add that paper against the wall is going to aid the wall getting soiled where touched all the time. [/QUOTE] Um, your not suppose to hang the toilet paper after you used it. [/QUOTE] No no, she (he) is right. Your hands, even if visually clean, leave bits of skin oil and dead skin cells wherever you touch. Touch one spot often enough, and it gets grungy, even if you’re not touching it with obviously dirty hands. Look at the wall around your lightswitches if you don’t believe me. Cleaning the wall behind the roll of toilet paper would be a pain in the ass, but every time the roll got low and I could see it again, I’d get depressed at the thought and drag out the sponge. Over-the-top with a clean wall now. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/33 "2007-02-16T12:36:34Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] No no, she (he) is right. Your hands, even if visually clean, leave bits of skin oil and dead skin cells wherever you touch. Touch one spot often enough, and it gets grungy, even if you’re not touching it with obviously dirty hands. Look at the wall around your lightswitches if you don’t believe me. Cleaning the wall behind the roll of toilet paper would be a pain in the ass, but every time the roll got low and I could see it again, I’d get depressed at the thought and drag out the sponge. Over-the-top with a clean wall now. [/QUOTE] I’m glad to see somebody got the point, that I was talking about regular hand dirt, not poopy fingers. :rolleyes: No need to comment, but she’s HE. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/34 "2007-02-16T13:10:47Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] What I don’t understand is the cat angle. Surely a cat can grab the dangling end just as easily regardless of which side of the roll it’s hanging? [/QUOTE] Cats can’t generally grab the hanging square of paper. They don’t have opposable thumbs (or any thumbs, depending), and their claws just rip through. Instead, they figure out how to spin the roll by swatting it downwards. If the roll unwinds this way, kitty has just made a river of paper and can then run around with it. But if the roll unwinds off the back, it stays where it is. Unless kitty gets frustrated and claws the whole damn thing where it lies. Fortunately, my current cats don’t really give a crap about the toilet paper. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/35 "2007-02-16T14:27:48Z")
We’re an over the top household and always have been. Our cats have never gone for the toilet paper, for what it’s worth. They’re much happier licking potato bags for entertainment. Over the top simply makes the most sense. It hangs closer to your reach, any decorative pattern on the paper is properly displayed, and I find it much easier to rip it off neatly at the perforations. Plus, you can get all “toilet paper origami” with it in this position and fold the end into a little triangle if you’re really paranoid about it looking “neat.” ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/36 "2007-02-16T17:45:46Z")
[QUOTE=sturmhauke] Cats can’t generally grab the hanging square of paper. They don’t have opposable thumbs (or any thumbs, depending), and their claws just rip through. Instead, they figure out how to spin the roll by swatting it downwards. If the roll unwinds this way, kitty has just made a river of paper and can then run around with it. But if the roll unwinds off the back, it stays where it is. Unless kitty gets frustrated and claws the whole damn thing where it lies. [/QUOTE] This is correct. If one hangs over the top, the kitty will bat and bat and bat until all the toilet paper is in a pile on the floor, then proceed to claw and chew and shred and apparently have a grand old time with the TP. If one hangs against the wall (at least with our cats), the kitty will sink claws into roll and rip out largish chunks of shredded paper (as the roll did not unroll when batted). Our smaller cat will, in fact, _swing_ from the roll by her claws, thereby wreaking considerable havoc with the roll. Given sufficient time (such as the workday hours), the cats will convert the roll into confetti and spread it throughout the house. However, for reasons I don’t understand, the expedient of placing a roll on top of the dispenser sitting on its end magically converts the roll from “Toy Du Jour” to “Invisible”.\* \*For the record: this also happens with paper towels. If one stores the paper towels upright, the cats are supremely uninterested in them. If one of them finds a roll of paper towels lying on its side, the self-same roll will turn into the Most Alluring Toy In The World until confetti status is achieved. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_of\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sock\_of\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_of_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/37 "2007-02-16T18:15:42Z")
[QUOTE=Aangelica] This is correct. If one hangs over the top, the kitty will bat and bat and bat until all the toilet paper is in a pile on the floor, then proceed to claw and chew and shred and apparently have a grand old time with the TP. If one hangs against the wall (at least with our cats), the kitty will sink claws into roll and rip out largish chunks of shredded paper (as the roll did not unroll when batted). Our smaller cat will, in fact, _swing_ from the roll by her claws, thereby wreaking considerable havoc with the roll. Given sufficient time (such as the workday hours), the cats will convert the roll into confetti and spread it throughout the house. However, for reasons I don’t understand, the expedient of placing a roll on top of the dispenser sitting on its end magically converts the roll from “Toy Du Jour” to “Invisible”.\* \*For the record: this also happens with paper towels. If one stores the paper towels upright, the cats are supremely uninterested in them. If one of them finds a roll of paper towels lying on its side, the self-same roll will turn into the Most Alluring Toy In The World until confetti status is achieved. [/QUOTE] All paper products in my apartment are kept in cabinets for this reason. I wouldn’t mind unrolling and playing with some, but my cat has decided it’s more fun to chew out the middle of the roll. All the way down to the cardboard, which kills an entire roll of toilet paper/ paper towels. ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/38 "2007-02-16T21:09:27Z")
[QUOTE=Aangelica] … However, for reasons I don’t understand, the expedient of placing a roll on top of the dispenser sitting on its end magically converts the roll from “Toy Du Jour” to “Invisible”.\* … [/QUOTE] Exact same experience at my house. Cats are weird. **Synthetically Organic** , love that name 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2007, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/39 "2007-02-17T10:11:02Z")
I once lived in a shared household. The topic of the ‘mysterious turning around of the toilet paper the wrong way’ came up and we couldn’t work out who was doing it. Turns out it was me. I was correcting the positioning of the roll so that the paper hangs down on the far side of the roll. My reasoning that this was the correct way is simple. Pulling the paper from the far side pulls the roll away from the wall so a full roll doesn’t catch on the holder. When one pulls the paper from the near side, the roll catches or rubs on the holder, causing annoying premature paper tearing. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328/40 "2007-02-17T21:42:13Z")
[QUOTE=antechinus] When one pulls the paper from the near side, the roll catches or rubs on the holder, causing annoying premature paper tearing. [/QUOTE] Most holders don’t do that though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-roll-whither-does-it-hang/392328.md?page=3)