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Asymmetric loo roll

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If a regular loo roll is partially unrolled, and the unrolled end hangs down, the weight of the paper can cause the whole roll to unwind spontaneously.

The solution is to have the hole in the middle off-centre with respect to the rest of the roll.

Given that loo paper is quite soft and squishy, it should be possible to vary the tension in the winding-on machine (that makes the rolls), in such a way that one side of the roll is quite loose, while the opposite side is quite tight, thereby placing the central roll off-centre.

If so, the roll will naturally hang with the less-tightly- packed side downmost (since more material lies further from the centre), and will not spontaneously uncoil all over the bathroom floor.

I have nothing else to add on this subject.

MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 24 2015

lou rawls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Rawls
Bet they kidded him about this in jolly old... [popbottle, Mar 24 2015]

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       I feel like I have seen oval shaped central cylinders for tp rolls. I feel also some inchoate visceral hatred towards these oval cylinders. Could it be they were designed such that one can only pull one square of paper off of them at a time, French style?
bungston, Mar 24 2015
  

       If the holders were all positioned at floor level, and you had to pull the paper upwards towards you, the problem you identify could never exist.
xenzag, Mar 24 2015
  

       They're all oval to some degree out here in the colonies, especially after granpappy sits on one. And I reckon we ain't got such smooth loo roller bearings as they do at Westminster, much more like a tree branch sticking thru the wall.
the porpoise, Mar 24 2015
  

       I don't think I've ever had a roll spontaneously unroll. Sure it's spontaneous? I had a lot more "spontaneous" things happen when I had a dog. Anyhow, a 3-5 mm spot of that glue they use on the end of the roll could be used to fasten a fixed point on the circumference, decreasing radius in that region.
bs0u0155, Mar 24 2015
  

       Why not just wind the paper on a pentagonal core ?
8th of 7, Mar 24 2015
  

       I am now investigating the difficulty and expense of a roller- bearing toilet roll holder.
bs0u0155, Mar 24 2015
  

       Roller slightly of center seems to work, but is annoying as the sheet breaks off when ever it wants to.
popbottle, Mar 24 2015
  

       You need a brake and a very sensitive force sensor. If the weight or the roll decreases slightly because the user is pulling up on the end of the roll, the brake is released. If the weight increases, the brake is applied. I was going to say this would be useful for someone with cats, but then realized that if the roll didn't spin the cat would then simply use it to sharpen their claws, completely shredding one side of the roll.
scad mientist, Mar 24 2015
  

       how about a seatbelt-style inertia reel system? this should also stop the overenthusiastic. They need stopping.
bs0u0155, Mar 24 2015
  

       Yes, I think an inertia reel mechanism is the way to go. Either that or lower the spec of your loo roll axle bearings so that it doesn't turn so freely.
hippo, Mar 24 2015
  

       //lower the spec of your loo roll axle bearings//   

       sounds like a dangerous lack of over-engineering to me..   

       Now excuse me while I service the oil pump on my loo roll holder
bs0u0155, Mar 24 2015
  

       // I feel like I have seen oval shaped central cylinders for tp rolls. //   

       I feel like those were just rolls that had been accidentally squozen across the diameter at some point between manufacturing and being seen by you.
notexactly, Mar 28 2019
  

       As, for the next 21 minutes, I am still employed by one of the nation's favourite loo-roll makers, I feel a professional obligation to defend their position vis-a-vis the current design of loo-rolls. But I'm not going to. So there!
DrBob, Mar 29 2019
  
      
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