Monday, March 25, 2013

This is Why We Have an Internet



And why we have Wikipedia:

Despite its being an apparently trivial topic, some people hold strong opinions on the matter. Advice columnist Ann Landers said that the subject was the most controversial issue in her column's history. Defenders of either position cite advantages ranging from aesthetics, hospitality, and cleanliness to paper conservation, the ease of detaching individual squares, and compatibility with a recreational vehicle or a cat. Celebrities and experts are found on both sides. Some writers have proposed connections to age, sex, or political philosophy; and survey evidence has shown a correlation with socioeconomic status.


Solutions range from compromise, to using separate dispensers or separate bathrooms entirely, or simply ignoring the issue altogether. One man advocates a plan under which his country will standardize on a single forced orientation, and at least one inventor hopes to popularize a new kind of toilet roll holder which swivels from one orientation to the other.

Once you've had quite enough of this sort of thing, be sure to scroll down to Similar Controversies.

5 comments:

Veeshir said...

I made a joke about that once, I was taken to task.

It made me laugh.


The Simpsons had a bit on it too, when child 'services' came to take Bart and Lisa away, they ticketed Marge for having her TP in the wrong orientation.

OMMAG said...

What controversy? The overpull to the front is the RIGHT way to mount the roll.

Ten Mile Island said...

What if you're in Australia?
.

lumberjack said...

Ah, the Australian paradox. Yes, Australia appears to stand orthodox orientation rules on their head.

But the paradox resolves itself when you consider that, in Australia, the toilets are all upside down.

Lumberbrudi said...

The problem is that some people can't handle 2 part rules:

If you have a toddler, puppy or kitten in the household, you MUST mount it coming out the back, like the photo on the right. Otherwise you'll return to find the entire roll unraveled onto the floor.

But if toddlers, puppies and kittens are NOT a factor, there's a technique you can do with the roll mounted like the photo on the left. If your hands are wet or poopy, and you don't want to touch the roll (lest the excretia soak through to the rest of the roll), you can BLOW at the roll. The paper will, as if by magic or Bernoulli's principle, levitate and unravel exactly one loop of paper, with which you can tug out more paper without risking soak contamination.

This two part rule infuriates BOTH groups of proponents, precisely because it's the correct way.

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