Download PDF
Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2023; 71(03): 163-164
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1767732
Editorial

Bottom Up

Markus K. Heinemann
1   Department of Cardiac and Vascular Surgery, Universitaetsmedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
    Permissions and Reprints All articles of this category

It is about time for another one of these irreverent editorials which have nothing to do with the journal, cardiothoracic surgery, or even medicine whatsoever. One of those which are simply written for fun, in the hope that readers will feel the same sentiment when reading them. So here we go again. Don't say you haven't been warned.

Recently I spent several nights in a venerable hotel where I felt very welcome and taken care of, even pampered. How come? A small detail caught my eye and was much appreciated: the rim of the first leaf of the toilet roll was folded into a neat triangle. Not only upon arrival, mind you, but on every single day of my stay with the roll getting slimmer at first and finally being replaced. Of course, this feature is absolutely unnecessary and does not even improve the practicality of the adorned object, but it does, in a mysterious way, enhance the experience – you know which one.

Having a scientific mind, I started to research this topic for a bit and came up with some surprising and entertaining finds. Folding toilet paper is an established creative movement, call it a “meme,” a special kind of origami. For this you have to distinguish between creations made from one or several loose sheets of toilet paper or from the first one(s) still attached to the roll – which is the variety we are dealing with here.[1] [2] [3] [4] For effect the first paper has to hang free floatingly away from the wall and must not slither along it – the “over the spool” arrangement (opposed to “under the spool”) as intended by the original patent in 1891.[5] [6] To briefly touch upon medicine for once: there is evidence that the free hanging is more hygienic because it keeps contaminated hands away from the wall.[7]

During collecting these important bits of information it was unavoidable that I would hit upon another debate that has been going on for a very long time and concerns the users of (decorated-or-not) toilet paper: Do you fold or wad? A lot of emotion has been put into this, interpreting the individual preference with personality traits. Even whole nations have been characterized according to their supposed usage: while the Americans are considered to be wadders, the Germans are neat folders.[8] Presumably the truth is that you will find both species throughout all nations, at least those which use toilet paper at all (Memo: material for another editorial?). Again, science suggests an answer, based on surface area calculations, for anybody interested: “the ideal solution … lies in the middle: a hybrid solution of folding toilet paper for coverage and wadding the first couple squares for maximum efficiency.”[9]

For the aficionado there is a toilet paper museum on the grounds of the Hakle company in Düsseldorf-Reisholz. Hakle (hakle.de) was founded in 1928 and is thought to be the first company in Europe producing toilet paper. The founder, Hans Klenk, not only gave his initials to form the household brand name, but in 1938 moved production from Ludwigsburg to – you will have guessed it by now – Mainz. In the 1960s he donated two fountains to the city: one, the impressive Hans Klenk Fountain, in front of downtown Christ Church (where he also financed the colored windows in the choir), and one on the University campus, in the vernacular called “water flush.” The latter location was probably chosen in remembrance of Klenk's time at the antiaircraft defense barracks during World War II, which serve as administrative buildings of the university until today. So not only did Mainz give us Gutenberg with his printing press, but also a lot of paper, even if not necessarily to print on.

What a journey: from an inconspicuous paper triangle to bacteriology to three-dimensional geometry and finally winding up in Mainz, of all places! The next time you see a piece of folded toilet paper you will appreciate it with a different mind. It will signal that somebody did care about the surroundings and presumably cleaned them just as painstakingly for you to fold or wad away happily – whatever your choice.



Publication History

Article published online:
05 April 2023

© 2023. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany