Over or Under – Where Does Your Sheet Lie? An Answer to the Great Toilet Paper Debate

When it comes down to it, the constantly debated “over or under rule” is just a matter of preference when it comes to how we hang our toilet paper. However; several patent holders and inventors answered our questions of who is right and who is wrong in this debate more than a century ago.

So, here’s the answer – the correct way to hang toilet paper is to have the sheets OVER the roll, not under. That’s right – the answer is the end of a toilet paper roll should be on the outside, or in the “over” position, because the rolls were intended to have the sheets readily available and not behind/under the roll. One patent holder Seth Wheeler, who had patented the toilet paper with incisions/perforations for individual sheet selection, proves this all to be correct.
Here is some “definitive” proof of how the rolls meant to hang:

You view several other inventors knew this to be true – and even when the rolls weren’t “rolls,” but were flat tissues or folded, it was still always over – not under.

• https://www.google.com/patents/US465588
• https://www.google.com/patents/US5480060
• https://www.google.com/patents/US396675
• https://www.google.com/patents/US386570
• https://www.google.com/patents/US416842
• https://www.google.com/patents/US361603
• https://www.google.com/patents/US404622
• https://www.google.com/patents/US374399
• https://www.google.com/patents/US407345

How do you roll? Let’s just hope you’re not the type of person in the fourth panel…

To learn about the history of the toilet paper roll visit "The History of the Toilet Paper Roll"