Tissues and issues

[venta]

Please excuse inanity. Is very important for clearing up an argument:

[Poll #1560066]

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Having heard this topic discussed before (!) I get the impression that people who mount toilet rolls backwards typically do so because they attach the roll whilst the loose end is still glued down and don't know which way round they're doing it. (And then don't care enough to reverse the error.)

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

The front-vs-back toilet roll debate is a synecdoche for a deeper, more profound contrast within human society down the ages. It's the Apollonian vs Dionysian tension, the Utilitarian vs Aesthetic movements, the Enlightenment vs Romantic ideals, Cicero vs Cato, pragmatism vs ideological rigidity.

All of which is a fancy way of intimidating people in to my point of view, which is that it's handier to use with the free end down the front but looks slightly neater down the back, and that in the context of wiping your arse, practicality and comfort are paramount considerations, and certainly outweigh style.

[secretrebel.livejournal.com]

My parents are rabid on this subject. I actually don't care but I do it their way because otherwise when they come to visit they will
a) reverse my loo roll positioning
b) ask how I could have been so foolish as to have it the wrong way
c) despair of me as a human being

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Two loos. Downstairs is a 'don't much care' situation: it's very easy to change the orientation, thanks to the design of the holder, and I often do put it with the loose edge at the front if I happen to notice it's the other way around, but honestly I would not go out of my way to ensure it. Upstairs it's sideways so irrelevant.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Addendum: with it at the back is better when there's a toddler in the house - no 15ft trail of paper.

I care much more about whether people shut the lid or not.

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to report that I've actually come across people who deliberately mount them the wrong way round.

And don't get me started on people who don't sort out the plies such that the perforations line up.

[phlebas.livejournal.com]

You'd rather they did or didn't shut the lid?

wikipedia

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

the neck of a goose!?

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

:-O

So if you talk to the former group, what reason to they give for their preference?

[the-alchemist.livejournal.com]

When I was a child, my grandparents *always* had it at the back - it seems unlikely that could happen by chance. I usually swapped it and I think they sometimes swapped it back.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Intergenerational conflict at its fiercest!

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

but looks slightly neater down the back

Matter of opinion. I think it looks neater hanging down the front; you've just got a nice smooth continuous surface of toilet roll, rather than a smooth surface of toilet roll with an end hanging down trying to look inconspicuous and failing.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Preference is do. I still care about it either way.

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

http://ar-gemlad.livejournal.com/35419.html

:)

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

As mentioned below, possibly a 'hangover from small children in the house' issue. Back-hanging tissue generally snaps if you take hold of the end and run. Front-hanging doesn't (and hence the 'flush the end' trick works, and blocks the loo if you're really unlucky).

It also stops people using half a roll at once without conscious effort. If you're from the "three squares is extravagant" school (and/or remember rationing...) I guess it would be a good way of limiting use. *shudder*

[phlebas.livejournal.com]

Is that also toddler-related or did you care before that?

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

Cats (and small children) are a good reason to put it with the loose end at the back, but in a cat- and child-free household, I think front-facing is easier to use. Although I think if one could only use one hand due to injury or whatever, back-facing might be better.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

No, that's a lifelong preference. Possibly a result of having younger brothers who thought leaving the whole seat up in the night was a good idea. It's not.

[phlebas.livejournal.com]

Indeed not! I was intrigued about the lid though - in my experience most women will object if the seat is left up, but won't close the lid.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I find most of the people I know who are firm about the lid are women, but it doesn't come up in conversation that often...

I have (jokingly) said before that it's the most equitable solution: for every use women want the seat down while for a percentage of uses men want the seat down but the majority of the time want it up, so in the average M-F household there's not going to be a reasonable compromise if the lid is left up. Neither party will feel they've got the fair end of the deal, being required to move the seat as necessary. Lid down means both parties must lift the lid, and men can move the seat in the same action if they want to.

Also, if you keep books or other items within n feet of the loo it's the least unpleasant option. (I know people who keep toothbrushes in a cup on top of the cistern and habitually leave the lid up. This makes me feel quite unwell.)

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

My parents just cut straight to (c).

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

I suspect some backwards-positioners just do it out of general misanthropy.

[sea-of-flame.livejournal.com]

My greatgrandfather used to always have that horrid shiny stuff that came in single sheets (great as tracing paper, vile for its intended purpose!) - wonder if as someone else said it was a rationing hangover?

[venta.livejournal.com]

My godmother still buys the horrid shiny stuff out of preference - fortunately in addition to normal stuff (either for visitors, or her husband, or maybe her preferences are more complicated... I've never wanted to ask!)

[venta.livejournal.com]

I'd assume that a household with toddlers in it you'd definitely want the lid up :)

I'm very much a lid-up (seat-down) person. This is because the main situation is my life when it's relevant is when running to the toilet to be sick. This was a very frequent occurence when I was a kid.

I therefore assume that all children are sick a lot, and that the lid must always be left up to avoid Untold Horror.