Over the years there has been a great debate on which way the toilet paper should go onto the toilet paper holder. Some put the toilet paper roll on the dispenser so that the toilet paper goes over the top of the dispenser. Others put the toilet paper roll on so that the toilet paper comes out on the underside of the dispenser.

I am investigating the way our school puts on toilet paper on the toilet paper dispenser. During my investigation, I have found that about 49% of the toilets in our school go UNDER and not OVER.

I posted a survey on holttribe.com to find out what direction people thought the toilet paper should go. 88 people responded. Out of the 88, 76 people voted that it should go over. So 13.6% believe that it should be draped under.

Toilet paper was invented in 1857 by Joseph Gayetty in the United States. In his original patten, he had the toilet paper going over and drooping down from the front.

 I asked some students from our school in their opinions.

“Toilet paper should always hang in the front; the other way is no good,” Caden Bray (’23), said

Daniel Rockamann (’22) also agrees.

“Toilet paper should go over because it is more convenient and easier to rip,” Rockamann said.

Some people that believe the toilet paper should go under say that it enables animals such as cats and dogs to easily ruin or tear up the toilet paper. A simple solution or one might call a simple fix is to close the bathroom door.

I personally enjoy seeing my dog run around the house with some toilet paper. It is funny and gives me something to watch when I am bored.

It is easier to find the toilet paper when it is high over because most people have it hanging over so those people look for it to be hanging over. If it is under it could be hiding and not be hanging long enough, so people will be spinning it around until they find the flap.

Finally, it is more sanitary for the toilet paper to droop over. Studies show you are more likely to get germs on your hand from pulling the toilet paper when it is hanging under. That is because your hand could touch the wall and the toilet paper is more likely to touch the wall when it is hanging under rather than over.

I hope my investigation helped you realize what happens at our school, how most people prefer their toilet paper and why people prefer it one way over the other. Even though the patten says for it to go over and most people use it over, it is a household opinion or your opinion. There is no right or wrong.