The issue may also arise in businesses and public places. Toilet paper orientation is sometimes mentioned as a hurdle for married couples. Privy's Original Bathroom Companion, Number 2, 'By more than 4 to 1, older folks prefer to have their toilet paper dispense over the front.' The same claim is made by James Buckley's The Bathroom Companion for people older than 50. In a survey of 1,000 Americans, Cottonelle found that 'overs' are more likely than 'unders' to notice a roll's direction (74 percent), to be annoyed when the direction is 'incorrect' (24 percent), and to have flipped the direction at a friend's home (27 percent). In various surveys, around 70% of people prefer the over position.

Swivelling toilet paper dispensers have been developed which allow the paper to be unrolled in either direction. Various toilet paper dispensers are available which avoid the question of over or under orientation for example, single sheet dispensers, jumbo roll dispensers in which the toilet roll is perpendicular to the wall, and twin roll dispensers. The over position is shown in illustrations with the first patents for a free-hanging toilet-roll holders, issued in 1891.

Partisans have claimed that each method makes it easier to tear the toilet paper on a perforated sheet boundary. The under position provides a tidier appearance, in that the loose end can be more hidden from view reduces the risk of a toddler or a house pet such as a cat unrolling the toilet paper when batting at the roll and in a recreational vehicle may reduce unrolling during driving.

Some particular advantages cited for each orientation include: hanging over reduces the risk of accidentally brushing the wall or cabinet with one's knuckles, potentially transferring grime and germs makes it easier to visually locate and to grasp the loose end gives the option to fold over the last sheet to show that the room has been cleaned and is generally the intended direction of viewing for the manufacturer's branding, so patterned toilet paper looks better this way. The main reasons given by people to explain why they hang their toilet paper a given way are ease of grabbing and habit. Two paper holders, each with different orientation

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