Lizzie Borden Society Forum

124-Year-Old Patent Reveals The Right Way To Use Toilet Paper.

According to an 1891 patent by New York businessman Seth Wheeler, the end of a toilet paper roll should be on the outside, or in the “over” position. (Advocates of the “under” position, take note: better flip that roll over when you get home.)

Source: http://tinyurl.com/p6wsrjd

The Toilet Paper Roll patent, registered by Seth Wheeler of New York in 1891, clearly shows that the paper should go over the roll, not under.

http://tinyurl.com/p4s3ejp

Seth Wheeler’s 1891 patent:

http://tinyurl.com/l378emb
Source: http://tinyurl.com/ntsfa67


I wonder if the Andrew J. Borden family ‘indulged’ in such a ‘luxury’???

Hahaha! Validation! I knew I was right:)
My roommate puts it on 'under', then I have to right it. Glad to have this mystery solved, lol!

My husband also puts the roll on 'under', and it drives me nuts until I correct it!

Do you believe it took 124 years to solve this mystery? Jeeez!

Yes, that is the real question...why so long?!

I suppose the people who insist on putting the roll on in the 'under' position are adamant that they are correct, and the same goes for those of us who put it on in the 'over' position. Meanwhile, in the past 124 years, no one bothered to do some research to find out the truth. I am just surprised that this information has almost gone viral, considering the number of links that are available on the internet!!! The links I posted above are just the 'tip of the iceberg'!

over.... always

If I were using the roller (the stand, in the wall, etc.) it would probably be under but that is just how I'm wired to put it, not necessarily a preference. However, it sits on its side on a set of shelves in the bathroom.

I guess I'm putting it on facing out so that the start seems easier to find. Seems like the other way around means you have to spin it to find the start; probably same difference either way, tho'.

If it's under, then it should hang down. I don't know about y'all but I always start a new roll so I'm not hunting for the start of it in the middle of the night which is when I'm most likely to start a new roll.

Obviously the patent holder never owned a cat....

Sorry to see the capability to upload animation seems to no longer be possible or else I've lost my touch.For the animated version: http://www.angelfire.com/moon/freewomen ... tpaper.gif

You're right Debbie, cats find all sorts of things to entertain themselves with in a bathroom. The toilet paper roll seems to be their favorite 'toy'!

BTW, you haven't lost anything; the image you provided animates when enlarged.

I'm an 'over' person, all the time! Under drives me mad. You sometimes get under in staff or public loos. It must have been awful to have to use pieces of newspaper in the days before toilet rolls. I believe the little sheets were cut up beforehand and threaded on a string!

Curryong wrote:... It must have been awful to have to use pieces of newspaper in the days before toilet rolls.

You're absolutely right, Curry. My parents didn't have indoor plumbing until I was in high school. My family did use pieces of our small town local newspaper, which we crumbled up to soften it. Most of the time we tore out and crumbled up pages from the Montgomery Ward and the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalogs, which were called "wish books". The state newspapers were very rarely used, because subscriptions to newspapers cost money; catalogs were free! I must say that there are a lot of things I enjoyed about my childhood and living on a farm, the outhouse is definitely NOT one of them!!!

Over always. If it's under it can be too close to the wall and harder to access.

We got indoor plumbing shortly before I started kindergarten. Mostly I used a chamber pot because the outhouse was waaaaay out, about 150 feet from the house which seemed like five miles because we had two ganders, Armstrong and Alexander, who took as their duty to chase me to and from the toilet and the school bus. I became very adept at dodging geese with a backpack or a full bladder.

My family also used chamber pots during the night, but never during the daylight hours. (NO, the contents of our chamber pots were NOT thrown out on the front yard!!! Andrew really did have a disgusting habit, didn't he?)

In "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" didn't Andrew say that it was good for the Pear Tree?

If the chamberpot contents were emptied each morning on your property, back then, how did your property not smell REALLY bad especially in warm weather? What was the usual custom?

pld0128 wrote:If the chamberpot contents were emptied each morning on your property, back then, how did your property not smell REALLY bad especially in warm weather? What was the usual custom?

The choices about where to empty were fairly limited.

Fargo wrote:In "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" didn't Andrew say that it was good for the Pear Tree?

I don’t recall Andrew saying this, but if he did, he was correct.

I found some information that you may be interested in reading.

Farmers looking for a natural way to fertilize their crops may need to look no further than human urine, which is naturally rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus – the same ingredients in conventional fertilizers.

Although the use of urine as fertilizer is rare (though not unheard of) today, it has actually been used as fertilizer since ancient times, and new research suggests it may be wise to bring this ancient tradition back.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/pjqexjf

Here are some other links regarding this subject:

http://tinyurl.com/n9vv5xj

http://tinyurl.com/kjmwp28

pld0128 wrote:If the chamberpot contents were emptied each morning on your property, back then, how did your property not smell REALLY bad especially in warm weather? What was the usual custom?

Well, my family dumped the contents of the chamber pot down one of the two-seater holes in the outhouse.

I don’t know what the usual custom was in the Victorian Era, but given the fact that Andrew threw his chamber pot contents out in his front yard, the contents would be absorbed into the ground, therefore eliminating the smell.