Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 21, 1993 TAG: 9309240337
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jeff DeBell
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
We're talking toilet paper here, specifically the preferred means of dispensing it.
The statistic is from the people who make Northern toilet paper. It was in a press kit announcing a new, ``quilted'' version of the product. The quilting is for softness, which Northern says is the attribute most desired in TP.
They know about that, and about the preference for up-and-over dispensing, because they conducted a survey of 1,200 consumers (How'd you like to take that call at dinnertime?).
They also found out that 40 percent of TP users are ``crumplers,'' whereas 30 percent wrap it around their hands and another 30 percent fold it before use.
On average, people use about 90 sheets per day. That comes to 75 rolls per year per person.
The perforated roll we know today was invented by Walter Alcock in 1879. Unfortunately, he lived in Victorian England. He couldn't promote his product because it was unmentionable.
Mass production took off in the U.S. during the 1880s, though one problem remained: The paper, made from ground wood, occasionally had splinters in it.
Manufacturers overcame that problem in the 1920s.
We are grateful.
by CNB