Learn about whether you should wad or fold toilet paper, according to science; why your brain evolved to hoard supplies but shame others for doing the same; and the purpose of grand unified field theory, with help from astrophysicist Adam Becker.
Learn about whether you should wad or fold toilet paper, according to science; why your brain evolved to hoard supplies but shame others for doing the same; and the purpose of grand unified field theory, with help from astrophysicist Adam Becker.
Whether to wad or fold toilet paper, according to science by Andrea Michelson
Your brain evolved to hoard supplies and shame others for doing the same by Stephanie Preston for The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/your-brain-evolved-to-hoard-supplies-and-shame-others-for-doing-the-same-134634
More from Dr. Adam Becker:
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/what-is-the-grand-unified-field-theory-w-dr-adam-becker-should-you-wad-or-fold-toilet-paper-and-why-you-judge-your-own-hoarding-differently
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about whether you should wad or fold toilet paper, according to science. Speaking of toilet paper, you’ll then learn why your brain evolved to hoard supplies but shame others for doing the same. We’ll wrap up by answering a listener question about grand unified field theory, with help from astrophysicist Adam Becker.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
So long as toilet paper shelves remain close to empty, TP is as good as gold and should be used sparingly. So, it’s time to settle the great wiping debate: if you want to be the most efficient with your toilet paper, is it better to wad or to fold?
Luckily, MEL Magazine staff writer Quinn Meyers already set out to answer this question — with some help from a nuclear physicist named Sam Novario. Novario boiled down the issue to minimizing toilet paper usage while maximizing wiping efficiency.
He worked out a pretty simple equation to represent this dilemma: total toilet paper used equals toilet paper per wipe times the number of wipes. Let’s break that down a bit more: paper per wipe is determined by the TP area times the number of folds. The number of wipes depends on the amount of, er, *waste* per wipe as well as how much waste you’re dealing with.
So the equation really comes down to waste per wipe. Novario considered the toilet paper area, the wrinkles on the toilet paper’s surface, and how likely it is to stay intact when calculating wiping efficiency. Obviously, these factors vary by brand. The ridges on that more expensive TP? They aren’t just there for decoration. They’re designed to make wiping more efficient by using texture, just like wadding the paper would.
When it comes down to it, the wiping efficiency of wadded toilet paper can’t be beat. Wrinkling the paper creates way more surface area than folding does, so there are way more surfaces that can pick up what you’re putting down. However! Wadding significantly decreases the amount of coverage you get per wipe. Some people might prefer the extra coverage that they get from a folded square or even wrapping the paper around their hand.
Novario came up with an ingenious solution that combines both strategies. He recommends a hybrid wiping style where you fold your TP in half and crumple the top layer. This way, you get the coverage of a fold and the wiping efficiency of a wad. This strategy uses a bit more paper than a traditional wad, but hey, that’s the price you pay for a clean butt.
Whether you fold or wipe your toilet paper, one thing’s for sure: a lot of places are sold out of it these days. You’ve heard plenty of stories about people hoarding food and toiletries during quarantine and shelter-in-place orders. But here’s something else you may have noticed: it feels like a lot of people aren’t shy about judging the people doing the hoarding. And that’s even though sometimes that judgment comes from people who are doing the exact same thing! Well, according to one researcher, that makes some sense. Our brains are hardwired to hoard supplies, but shame others for doing the same thing.
This comes from an article from The Conversation, by Dr. Stephanie Preston, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. She points out that hoarding is actually a normal, adaptive behavior that kicks in any time there’s an uneven supply of resources. After all, squirrels, birds, and many other animals hoard food to last them over the winter. And the signal that tells these creatures’ brains to switch into hoarding mode? Is stress. Kangaroo rats will begin hoarding if their weight drops or a neighboring animal steals from them. And this applies to humans, too: when researchers make study participants feel anxious, those people end up wanting to take more stuff home with them afterward.
So when we hear that we’ll be stuck at home for weeks or when we see empty shelves at the grocery store, our brains are programmed to start stockpiling. Not only does it relieve some anxiety, it’ll actually protect you in an emergency. These behaviors are motivated less by logic and more by a deeply felt drive to feel safer.
But at the same time that people are amassing their own stockpiles, they get upset about other people taking too much. That’s also a legitimate concern. It’s a version of the “tragedy of the commons,” where people’s tendency to take a little extra for themselves depletes an otherwise sustainable public resource so it can’t help anyone. It takes cooperation to ensure everyone gets their fair share, and by shaming others, people are trying to ensure that cooperation.
One thing to remember is that the media covers stockpiling stories selectively, and tends to focus on the most shocking cases. People are mostly rational and responsible and will respect that, for example, health care workers may need masks more than they do. Most people are trying to protect themselves and their families while also considering the needs of others. That’s how the human species evolved: to get through challenges like this together.
We got a listener question from Jillian, who writes, "I recently saw an episode of Sheldon and he talked about the grand unified field theory. Just CURIOUS, what's that all about? And is solving it the greatest breakthrough in history of science?" That is a deep question, Jillian, so to get a deep answer, I called on an expert. Dr. Adam Becker is an astrophysicist and author of the book “What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics.” He'll break it down for ya.
[CLIP 3:00]
Again, that was Dr. Adam Becker, astrophysicist and author of the book "What Is Real: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics." You can find a link to Adam’s book in the show notes. Thanks again for your question, Jillian, and if YOU have a question, then leave us a voicemail at 312-596-5208. Or, of course, you can email us at podcast-at-curiosity-dot-com.
(link: https://www.amazon.com/What-Real-Unfinished-Meaning-Quantum/dp/0465096050/)
CODY: Before we recap what we learned today, here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll hear next week on Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Next week, you’ll learn about why people tune out facts and trust their guts in medical emergencies;
What makes fruit mealy;
Where researchers think the first interstellar object came from;
How social rejection can fuel creativity;
And more! Okay, so now, let’s recap what we learned today.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s stories were written by Andrea Michelson and by Stephanie Preston for The Conversation, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Scriptwriting was by Cody Gough and Sonja Hodgen. Curiosity Daily is produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Have a great weekend, and join us again Monday to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!