Toilet seat: up or down? What about toilet paper?

Most controversy in the coexistence of a woman and a man is probably due to a toilet seat. And this problem is dragging across generations. After all, the first flush toilet with valve was created by John Harington for Queen Elizabeth I already in the 16th century. Since then, a lot of water has been flushed and probably also a lot of patience in arguing about where the unfortunate toilet seat is supposed to be. And not just that. Also, how toilet paper is to be oriented is a frequently discussed topic.

The toilet seat attracted economists

The first modern flush toilet, as we know it today, appeared in 1886. So, from this year, we can probably date the well-known issue – up or down? Lifting, or tilting the seat caught the attention of economists who wrote a few studies on the subject. According to some, it is most effective to leave the seat in the position it was last used and not to waste the energy to change its position. The cost of changing the seat position is fifty-fifty for both partners. Another economist recommends men to leave the seat up after each second use and down after each use.

However, the standard is to keep the seat down – another behavioral economist agrees. He thinks if a woman finds the toilet seat up, she starts screaming at the partner, and the consequences are much higher than the man’s effort to put the toilet seat back down. That´s about it in terms of economists, costs and revenues 🙂

Source: Pexels

Disputes are also due to toilet paper

Someone does not care how toilet paper hangs, the other insists on the right orientation, and even puts effort with the decorative folding of the first sheet. The truth is that it is more convenient and hygienic to unroll the paper from a position where it does not lean against the wall and hangs from the front. There is even a patent for this from 1891 created by Seth Wheeler, an entrepreneur from New York.

The fact that there is a research of perhaps everything nowadays, sometimes the relationships and the connections between things that would not even give us an idea, is also evidenced by Dr. Gildy Carle’s research. It has conducted an experiment that reveals the character of a person based on the toilet paper hanging. Two thousand men and women from 18 to 75 from different ethnic groups were involved in the research. Among other things, the participants were asked, “Which way do you hang your toilet paper?” The doctor first thought of it as a joke but had unexpectedly found interesting results. Based on how we rotate our toilet paper, it is possible to distinguish two types of people: submissive and dominant.

People who hang their toilet paper from below, that is, to the wall, are more submissive types (Figure B). They take longer making decisions and tend to hesitate. They often transmit their hesitation into emotional affairs. If some things annoy them, they often do nothing about it. They can also be characterized as altruistic kind people who are easier to influence and leave the success to others.

Those who pull their toilet paper from above, that is, from the wall, are the more dominant types (Figure A). They don’t hesitate, they go right to the point. They deal with issues more egoistically; they are bolder and in some situations they can be malicious. Interestingly, people who are more dominant, even have the urge to turn toilet paper into the other direction when they are visiting, said thesun.co.uk.

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