No Butts About It – Study Shows Indiana Uses More of This Bathroom Product Than 3/4 of the Country

If you think about it, the bathroom is unlike any other room in our house. Besides the obvious fact it's (ideally) the only room with a toilet, it's the only room in the house I can think of we use to both clean ourselves off and handle our dirty business. Apparently, when it comes to the cleaning up part, we Hoosiers like to make sure nothing gets left behind on our behinds.

Indiana Residents Use More Toilet Paper Than 3/4 of America

A new study by Mr. Rooter Plumbing surveyed 3.000 residents across the country earlier this year and asked them about their toilet paper usage. Specifically, how much toilet paper they typically use and how much they use it. The company then estimated the total amount used in the state by using a four-inch-by-four-inch square as their basis of measurement and multiplied it by the number of residents in each state over the age of five using data from the U.S. Census.

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After the numbers were crunched, Indiana found itself inside the top 10 not only in how much T.P. we use but also how much we spend on it. Turns out we're literally flushing quite a bit of money down the toilet every year.

Before we go any further, it's important to note the study factored in all the ways we use toilet paper, not just the main reason. Uses such as blowing your nose when tissues aren't an option, smashing a bug that got in the house, or stopping the bleeding from a cut or a bloody nose. No word on if they took into consideration the fact we also like to throw multiple rolls into people's trees in the middle of the night as a prank, but I'll assume they didn't.

How Much Toilet Paper Does Indiana Use on an Annual Basis?

Based on their calculations, Mr. Rooter estimates each resident in the Hoosier State uses 5,446.69 feet of toilet paper every year. That's just over a mile per person. Just over 536 feet more than the national average and twice the height of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 2,722 feet.

Yep. You'd have to stack another one of these on top of this one to match the amount of toilet paper we use.

How Much Does Indiana Spend on Toilet Paper Annually?

It should come as no shock that if we use that much toilet paper, we're going to spend a good chunk of change on it. How much is a "good chunk?" $18,315.29 over our lifetime to be exact which Mr. Rooter estimates as roughly $382 less than the average cost of two years of college tuition.

"You can either get an education or soft toilet paper, Jason, but you can't have both."

Is it possible we're using too much? Absolutely, but we don't care. 48% of the people who took the survey said they believe they use more toilet paper than they actually need. I am definitely part of that 48%. I want to make sure there's plenty of buffer between my hand and my, well, you know.

Over or Under, That is the Question

The debate over whether the toilet paper roll should hang on the holder with the paper coming over the top or from underneath has been raging since the first wall-mounted dispenser was installed. When asked about their preference, 73.4% of those surveyed said over the top. And even though I was not part of the survey, I wholeheartedly agree. As far as I'm concerned, there's a special place for the 26.6% that do it the other way.

You know the place.

To see how we compare to other states, check out the full breakdown on the Mr. Rooter website.

[Source: Mr. Rooter]