What Were They Thinking?

[ammo]

Toilet paper isn't that complicated. At this point in history, there's not much room for innovation. Paper companies can experiment with new materials and tweak the relationship between strength, softness, and absorbency, but there seems to be a cultural consensus about the basics of TP.

So imagine my surprise when my wife came home from Costco and announced that she had bought new Cottonelle that is "wider." That's right -- wider. The humble square is now a rectangle whose width exceeds its length. She also decided that everybody should now use fewer sheets of this tissue. Because it's wider.

My reaction was something like, "They did what?," followed by, "How does wider paper affect how many sheets get used?" After two or three weeks of field testing, we have decided that the extra half-inch of paper on the side of each sheet just ends up being money down the drain (literally and figuratively).

The new wider Cottonelle seems ideal if you are looking to wrap a gift in toilet paper. But if you want to put your TP to more traditional use, stick with the standard size.

 

[golfgal]

Does it fit on your toilet paper holder??

 

[golfgal]

OK, the posts are messed up again-my post should be AFTER the OP's

 

[ammo]

Does it fit on your toilet paper holder??

Remarkably, yes. Apparently we have been making TP holders wider than necessary for years.

 

[golfgal]

Remarkably, yes. Apparently we have been making TP holders wider than necessary for years.

Ok, I had to go measure ours and we have an inch to spare with the "regular" stuff .

 

[ammo]

Ok, I had to go measure ours and we have an inch to spare with the "regular" stuff .

And Cottonelle saw your spare inch as a marketing opportunity!

 

[Malibustyle23]

Actually a lady that does an editorial style column in our local paper did a story on toilet paper recently. She said she found a pack of tp from many years ago that was about An inch wider than the newer rolls she had. She had been thinking for awhile something was different but never had the proof until cleaning out a guest linen closet and found the years old package.

So perhaps this was a big tp conspiracy from the tp company. Shorten the rolls charge the same price then offer new wider rolls (probably) at a higher price without anyone remembering it was always that size.

 

[snapppyd]

Actually a lady that does an editorial style column in our local paper did a story on toilet paper recently. She said she found a pack of tp from many years ago that was about An inch wider than the newer rolls she had. She had been thinking for awhile something was different but never had the proof until cleaning out a guest linen closet and found the years old package.

So perhaps this was a big tp conspiracy from the tp company. Shorten the rolls charge the same price then offer new wider rolls (probably) at a higher price without anyone remembering it was always that size.

I think you are on to something!

Remember when a can of coffee was 16 ounces. Then it was 13 ounces. Now it is 11 ounces, and the price is going up again

 

[southern_redhead]

And Cottonelle saw your spare inch as a marketing opportunity!

Or......they have been plotting to have this new, weird, wide TP from the get go

I'm with you: If they took the space of the length and added it to the width you have just as much TP as you did before. How does that give you anything more to work with? Furthermore, I wonder if someone actually got a bonus for coming up with that?

 

[CPT Tripss]

Americans are getting fatter, this is not unexpected.

 

[sam_gordon]

The humble square is now a rectangle whose width exceeds its length.

It's 'HD' toilet paper!

 

[phillmolly]

they made the rolls shorter a while ago! I had a TP storage thing that I could fit three rolls in perfectly, and then all of sudden you could fit 3 1/2 in. The rolls got shorter but the price stayed the same.

 

[ammo]

It's 'HD' toilet paper!

I'll never look at a TP square the same way after that analogy! I am amazed by the level of tissue expertise around here. This DIS never disappoints.

 

[diznygirl]

Actually a lady that does an editorial style column in our local paper did a story on toilet paper recently. She said she found a pack of tp from many years ago that was about An inch wider than the newer rolls she had. She had been thinking for awhile something was different but never had the proof until cleaning out a guest linen closet and found the years old package.

So perhaps this was a big tp conspiracy from the tp company. Shorten the rolls charge the same price then offer new wider rolls (probably) at a higher price without anyone remembering it was always that size.

I noticed that too when changing the rolls a while back - the rolls shrunk an inch.

But now instead of squares to spare we have rectangles to..... what exactly?