Scrunch or Fold?

My one original contribution to the global discourse

I’m not sure what got me on the trail of this particular question. It must have been a conversation with someone where neither of us shied away from discussing intimate habits. There was almost certainly alcohol or marijuana involved as well. Probably both. It was 1976.

I have always been a folder. I don’t recall a time when I did not fold. Scrunching always felt much riskier to me. But I have made a point of quizzing people over the years, as a sort of ice-breaker, and have discovered that I am in a distinct minority. Probably 80% of the folks I quiz say they are scrunchers.

I think this is what got me so fascinated by the topic. When you approach a universal problem with a certain approach, I think it is natural to assume that your solution is also universal. I’m here to tell you—I have done the research, and it ain’t necessarily so.

I am speaking, of course, about what you do with the tissue that comes off the roll in the bathroom. As you prepare for cleanup, do you scrunch that paper into a wad, or do you fold it into a flat, rectangular shape?

Everyone does one or the other. There is no third option. And once a path is chosen, no reform is possible. Scruncher or folder, you are committed for life.

I believe that this must be learned behavior. We were all “potty trained,” and I can’t imagine a parent just handing paper off without instruction and/or demonstration.

I am a Boomer, and, almost by definition, I have many siblings. I recently quizzed my three brothers and one sister on this intriguing and very important question, and discovered a scruncher, two folders, and a “kind of a folded scrunch,” whatever the hell that is.

Conclusion: If we were all taught the same method, it didn’t stick.

As a folder, I have a few observations:

• I have 100% confidence that I know the exact dimensions of the tool I am using. There is virtually no chance that my fingers will slip and find themselves doing the job intended for the tool. Can scrunchers make the same claim? Every iteration of their tool is slightly different.

• I do have to alter my approach depending on the tissue ply. With the good stuff I use at home, it’s a triple-fold. In public venues with single-ply crap, it’s at least four folds, if not six. I assume that scrunchers also have to alter their approach, but I don’t know. Scrunching is just so damn foreign to me.

• Because I have a flat, exposed wiping surface, if I ever feel the need to inspect the situation, I feel that there can be no debate that the folding approach has no peer. You can see exactly what you are dealing with.

I first started asking people about this in the 1970’s, and as far as I could tell, I was the only human so bold as to ask such an intimate question in mixed company. Of course, in the Internet age, there are no secrets. I decided to Google “Scrunch or Fold” and was blown away by the results. There are Reddit discussions, a TED Talk, a short documentary that interviews multiple users of both methods, and a number of surveys. Almost all of this is British, for some reason.

The documentary (5 minutes) is especially well-done. I wish I had thought to do the same. If you watch, you’ll find that the “fecal matter expert” is a strong proponent for scrunching.

The one American survey I found was conducted by YouGov in 2022. They asked 2000 adults for their preference and tabulated the results: 44% folders, 22% scrunchers, and 34% choosing neither option. I think that there must have been a problem with the survey design. I have never once asked this question and not gotten a clear (and even passionate) preference. Maybe these are people like my brother (kind of a folded scrunch). Whatever. Pick a lane, buddy.

In any case, this survey seems to indicate that there are more folders than scrunchers. Since my data set is maybe dozens of people, and this survey queried thousands, their results are likely more accurate.

A British survey from 2025 found 73% folders, 15% scrunchers, and 11% “wrap paper around their hand.”

Ew. I am not making this up. There actually is a third option. How the hell do you get it off your hand and into the bowl?

So it seems like my initial conclusion from 1976 (that, as a folder, I was the oddball) turned out to be incorrect. Thank goodness for professional pollsters taking on the important questions.

A couple of paragraphs ago, I had to visit the loo (all of this British source material is infecting my mind), and I consciously attempted to scrunch. It was definitely a no-go. Not gonna happen. This is a habit for life.

How about you? Choose your method. With my massive readership, we can work together to advance the science on this. Feel free to throw shade on the members of the other tribe in the comments.