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Under or over? There actually is a 'right' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

The debate is settled, once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?

Humans have debated things large and small over the millennia, from democracy to breastfeeding in public to how often people ought to wash their sheets. But perhaps the most silly-yet-surprisingly heated household debate is the one in which we argue over which way to hang the toilet paper roll.

The "over or under" question has plagued marriages and casual acquaintances alike for over 100 years, with both sides convinced they have the soundest reasoning for putting their toilet paper loose end out or loose end under. Some people feel so strongly about right vs. wrong TP hanging that they will even flip the roll over when they go to the bathroom in the homes of strangers.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not merely an inconsequential preference. According to health experts and the man who invented the toilet paper roll, there is actually a "correct" way to hang toilet paper.

What is the correct way to hang a roll of toilet paper?

First, let's be clear about what we're even talking about here with a visual. In the image below, left is "over" and right is "under."

toilet paper, bathrooms, over or under, toilet roll, bathroom etiquetteToilet paper hung "over" (left) and "under" (right)Elya/Wikimedia Commons


So which one is the right way? According to health experts, "over" is the way to go.

"One key to maintaining a hygienic washroom is minimising contact between people and surfaces," Dr. Christian Moro, associate professor of health sciences and medicine at Bond University on Australia's Gold Coast, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "Depending on the type of roll holder, [hanging the toilet paper "over"] often lowers the chance that a user will touch the wall behind when fishing for paper, leaving germs behind on that surface which can be spread to the next user."

Picture it: Grabbing the end of the toilet paper when it's hung "over" means you only touch the part of the toilet paper you're going to use. When it's "under," you sometimes have to fish for it or scrape your fingers on the wall in order to grab the loose end. In addition to whatever might be on people's hands already, think about all the people who wipe twice, potentially transferring fresh fecal matter or other bacteria to the wall on the second pass, which then get picked up by other people who inadvertently touch that wall when trying to grab their TP.

Theoretically, we all should have become better hand washers during the pandemic, scrubbing with soap for the full 20 seconds it takes to remove bacteria. But I wouldn't be willing to bet on it.

toilet paper, empty toilet paper roll, batthroom, bathroom etiquette, over or underEmpty toilet paper roll.via Canva/Photos

And touching any surface in a bathroom is pretty nasty, according to a study from the University of Colorado. As Inc. reported: "Using a high-tech genetic sequencing tool, researchers identified 19 groups of bacteria on the doors, floors, faucet handles, soap dispensers, and toilets of 12 public restrooms in Colorado — six men’s restrooms and six women’s restrooms. Many of the bacteria strains identified could be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces."

Bacteria means things like e.coli, which is a common source of food poisoning and one of the most common bacteria found on bathroom surfaces in the study. If you've ever had a bout of food poisoning, I'm sure you'll agree that a toilet paper roll hanging preference isn't worth risking it.

But sanitary health concerns aren't the only argument for the "over" camp. After all, the original patent for the toilet paper roll, issued in 1891, clearly shows the TP in the "over" position. Thank you for the clarity right from the get go, Mr. Wheeler.

toilet paper, bathrooms, over or under, toilet roll, bathroom etiquetteThe toilet paper roll was patented by Seth Wheeler in 1891.Public Domain


In Wheeler's patent, the perforated toilet paper hangs on a roll in the "over" position. In the words of the patent, the sheets of TP are “partially separated, having their points of attachment arranged in a novel manner, whereby each sheet will easily separate from the series as it is drawn from the roll, there being no litter occasioned, and any waste of paper is thereby prevented.”

Now, before the "under" folks come running with their pitchforks, there are some understandable exceptions to the "over" rule. Namely: cats and kids.

If you have a furry friend or a tiny toddler who likes to unroll the toilet paper roll, "over" makes it super fun for them, while "under" stops them in their tracks. For many people, cats and kids are the primary motivator of their TP hanging habits.

That doesn't change the fact that "over" is actually the "correct" way to hang toilet paper according to health science and the inventor's intention, of course, but "under" is certainly preferable to having a pile of TP on the floor.

Now go forth, do that with information as you will, and try to make peace with your over vs. under rivals.

This article originally appeared last year.

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How one wine company is rescuing the world’s shores, one beach at a time.

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Barefoot Wine - Beach Rescue

There are more than 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in our oceans.

That's a STAGGERING amount.

269,000 tons of that debris floats on the surface of the water, while the rest pollutes the ocean depths, according to National Geographic.

How did it all get there? Well, about half of it comes from land, washed out to sea from storm drains or waterways, sent into the water by poorly managed waste facilities, or left on the beach by beachgoers.

Luckily, caring people across the world are coming together to keep our beaches clean and take beach waste out of the water. Check it out!

What an incredible way to do something meaningful for Mother Nature and have fun in the process! In fact, beach cleanups and feeling good go more hand-in-hand than we might think.

All images via Barefoot Wine & Bubbly.

Cleaning beaches can actually be more fulfilling than just walking on them.

In a 2010 study published in Environment and Behaviour, scientists examined the behavior of volunteers as they engaged in different beach activities, such as rock pooling or walking along the coast. But when it came to beach cleaning, they noticed a significant spike in participants' well-being, their understanding of the marine environment, and their desire to participate in future beach cleanups.

Which is absolutely awesome! But then again, who doesn't love a day at the beach? It's no wonder that a chance to improve it only makes it that much more special the next time around.

Figuring out how to make caring for our beaches and oceans a habit is a much-needed step in the right direction.

"There is no one answer to solving the problem of marine litter, but the public are absolutely key — we all use plastics in our everyday lives so small changes in behavior by a lot of people can have a huge effect," Richard Thompson, professor of marine biology at Plymouth University and an expert on marine litter, told Phys.org.

"The challenge is to reverse some 60 years of training for the throwaway society we live in today, lessening the environmental and societal impacts of marine litter, and initiatives such as beach cleans can play a big role in increasing awareness of the problems and potential solutions."

The challenge to get rid of marine waste may be daunting, but together, we can do amazing things.

No doubt it'll take time.

But there's an old Chinese proverb that says, "To get through the hardest journey, we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping."

And beach cleanups are a small but important step.

If people around the world have that same mindset in the journey toward cleaner shores, we may meet our goal sooner rather than later.

How can you help? Celebrate World Beach Rescue Day (WBRD) on July 9, 2016.

It's part of a project of Barefoot Wine & Bubbly and the Surfrider Foundation called Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project. Together, they've been cleaning beaches around the world for years. For their 10th anniversary, they decided to start WBRD and do something a little special.

Different countries will be holding different beach cleanups simultaneously with the single goal of improving the conditions of their shores.

Since the project's inception 10 years ago, the beach-cleaning effort has expanded to more than 14 countries around the world with 14,000 volunteers who have collected more than 20 tons of trash from beaches.

This year, they're encouraging people to do their part and “Leave Only Footprints.”

And, of course, have some fun with it.

Don't worry! Volunteers will be given everything they need: reusable bags, gloves, and ... wine?

That's right! WINE! Once the cleaning is completed, everyone will be able to kick back with Barefoot Wine & Bubbly and enjoy some delicious food courtesy of the Surfrider Foundation.

A sunny day at the beach. Improving the environment. Celebrating with a glass of wine. How can you not keep coming back?

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This lovable grandma turned her daily 3-mile walk into a personal crusade against litter.

Litter is more than just ugly — it can be dangerous too.

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Dignity Health old

I try to keep my desk organized. There are my books to my left, my computer in the middle, and my lamp and notebook to the right. I like it that way — being tidy just feels right.

Larie's also a fan of tidy.

Larie McKeever is 80 years old. Every day she dons an orange safety vest, grabs a couple of trash bags, and takes a three-mile walk along Golf Course Road in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Along the way, she makes her neighborhood more beautiful by picking up litter and garbage.

“I try to leave the house as soon as it’s light outside,” Larie told the Northwest Herald. “But if I open my door and it’s pouring down rain, I won’t walk. Then again, if it starts raining while I’m on my walk, I won’t turn back.”

Larie finds all kinds of things.

You'd be amazed at what people throw away. Some of it is pretty normal — candy wrappers, for instance — but Larie's found driver's licenses and credit cards, too. She turns them in, of course. She also picks up aluminum cans, which are sold for recycling (the money goes to a local food pantry).  

Her walks are even good for her heart.

Larie has a condition known as aortic stenosis. One of the valves out of her heart doesn't work quite right. But the daily exercise is great for her.

Larie's instinct for picking up trash has been with her for years, handed down from her father.

As she and her dad walked to his work every day in Story City, Iowa, they'd pick up any litter they'd come across. 

"I think about my dad a lot when I'm walking," Larie told the Northwest Herald. "I think about how proud he would be that I'm still picking up litter, all these years later."

Now, years later, this particular walk started as Larie going to meet her granddaughter Kate's middle-school bus.

Wouldn't it be amazing if we had a million of her?

Because we could certainly use them. If you're a neat freak like me, you might not want to read this next sentence.

According to Keep America Beautiful, the average mile of roadway in the United States has over 6,500 pieces of litter on it.

GIF from "Parks and Recreation."

That's more than one piece per foot! All together, that adds up to more than 50 billion styrofoam 44-ounce soda cups, grease-stained fast food bags, and cigarette butts mucking up our beautiful country. 

Litter is more than just ugly — it can be downright dangerous.

"There's AAA research that shows that people have accidents as a result of litter," said Cecile Carson, senior director of affiliate development at Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit dedicated to making littering unacceptable. 

If a piece of trash flies out of the back of a pickup truck, for example, it could hit another car and cause a crash. 

Of course, litter hurts the environment, too. Broken glass and bits of metal can cut people and pets. Plastic and cigarette butts end up in animals' stomachs. And anything on the road can end up in our water supply. 

"Everything leads downstream," said Cecile. 

When you really love a place, you want to keep it clean. And this can have a big effect.

Keep America Beautiful has done a lot of research on this fact, and they say the problem is mostly individual people's behavior.

"Littered environments attract more litter," said Mike Rosen, a senior VP at Keep America Beautiful. "So if you can decrease the amount of visible litter, you can begin to change attitudes and change behaviors."

Before and after a cleanup. I wouldn't want to walk down "before," but I'd be real happy to have "after" in my neighborhood. Image used with permission from Keep America Beautiful.

Furthermore, if people see their neighbors and community members making an effort to go out and clean up, that also makes people think twice before littering.

"It personalizes it," said Cecile. A litterer might say, "Oh, that's the Kiwanis Club, that's the 4-H – I'm not going to litter on those people."

Image used with permission from Keep America Beautiful.

People like Larie — and anyone dedicated to stopping litter — deserve some recognition for keeping our country beautiful.

It's one thing to decry litter and trash, but it's quite another to go out and do something about it yourself. Larie's already inspired others in her community to pick up junk as they walk too, but imagine what America's streets would look like if everyone were as dedicated as Larie.

"I just like seeing the parks and streets cleaner," Larie said. "I don't like litter; I never have."

Watch Larie in action below.

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