Toilet tissue: ‘Most important invention of the 19th century’

Does your bathroom tissue roll go over or under? Americans have been debating this “tissue” ever since toilet paper rolls were invented in 1871.

 

Lawyers with SW&L Attorneys of Fargo, N.D., now argue that “over” is the correct and proper way to load the toilet paper dispenser. They site the original patent drawings submitted by Seth Wheeler of Albany, N.Y., that clearly show the perforated sheets rolling over the top of the roll, not tucking under it. 

See for yourself at Thyme Kitchen in Peoria, Ill. Owner Travis Mohlenbrink has framed an enlargement of the original toilet paper patent sketches. It hangs as artwork in the men’s lavatory. 

Travis Mohlenbrink

About 70% of us prefer our toilet paper in the “over” position according to officials with Cottonelle, a unit of Scott Paper Co. owned by Kimberly-Clark Corp. “Because the toilet paper is already closer to you, it makes it easier to grab from a seated position.” 

Advocates of the “under” position say their roll “looks tidier” when the paper is closer to the wall. One reader ventured a guess that “Seth Wheeler didn’t have cats.” 

The Cottonelle writer commented: “If you have a pet at home who is prone to playing with the toilet paper, then you might want to give the “under” technique a try. Because the roll hangs against the wall, there’s enough tension to keep the roll secure in its place.” 

Writing for the Albany Times Union, Kenneth C. Crowe II said people in New York’s capital city take great pride in Seth Wheeler’s contributions to America’ “public health and public sanitation.” 

Albany area historian Don Rittner said the toilet paper roll was “one of the most important inventions of the 19th century.” Toilet paper is so ubiquitous that it’s hard to imagine “what they did before.”

 

Don Rittner

The earliest attempts to manufacture toilet paper in America resulted in pre-cut flat sheets of paper that were bundled and tied together. They were quite pricey. Most consumers felt that “yesterday’s newspaper” served the purpose just as well. 

With his patents for both perforated toilet paper on a roll and the toilet paper dispenser, Wheeler caught the attention of the American public. “Each sheet will easily separate from the series as it is drawn from the roll…the waste of paper is thereby prevented,” he said. 

Wheeler started the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company in Albany and it became one of the city’s largest and most successful manufacturers. At its peak, the factory employed approximately 1,000 workers making thousands of miles of toilet paper.

 

At one time, more than 100 manufacturing plants were operating under licenses with Seth Wheeler and the APW Paper Company. Wheeler opened branches overseas in England, France, Germany and Switzerland. The company owned a pulp mill and 100,000 acres of forests in Nova Scotia, Canada.

 

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan often refers to Seth Wheeler is her speeches, citing that “Albany is a place where ideas become real.”

Seth Wheeler died in 1925 at age 87, and the business was inherited by his two sons, William and Seth Jr. They sold out to a private investor during the Great Depression in 1930. The company changed hands several times but was finally closed in 1964.

The original 222,120 square-foot APW Paper Company brick building in Albany is presently being transformed into mixed-use space with 260 urban apartments and retail shops. The $65 million project is supported in part by state and federal rehabilitation tax credits. Planned amenities include a gym, a pool, a beach volleyball court, gardens and a dog park. 

Surely, developers will also want to provide public restroom facilities…equipped with endless rolls of toilet tissue as a tribute to Seth Wheeler.