Toilet paper: Which way should it really go? An 1891 invention settles the debate

What a 130-year-old patent says

This is where the story gets really interesting. In 1891, an American inventor named Seth Wheeler filed an official patent for the perforated toilet paper roll. The document, referenced US465588, contains very precise illustrations showing how the product should be used.

And in these drawings? The sheet of paper is clearly coming out from the top and towards the front.

Wheeler had thought of everything: for cutting along the perforations to be simple and efficient, the sheet had to remain accessible and visible. The “sheet forward” position is therefore not just a matter of taste—it was the inventor’s own choice.

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