Toilet papering can be an initiation, a joke, a prank, or an act of revenge. It is common in the United States and frequently takes place on Halloween, April Fools’ Day, or after the completion of school events such as graduation or the homecoming football game.
A Tissue of Teenage Importance
I know some of you are instantly thinking “TPing” is passé, annoying, or just plain terrible. I understand where you’re coming from. I really do. But you can’t deny that teenagers have to cause trouble. It’s a part of growing up; like pimples and hating your parents.
Now, I’m the first one to challenge traditions or doing something just because it’s always been done, but TPing is awesome.
Now I’m the first one to challenge traditions or doing something just because it’s always been done, but TPing is awesome. I’m not talking about causing damage or major annoyances like “forking” (sticking plastic cutlery in the lawn and breaking it off, thus making it hard to clean up) or using colored paper (so when it rains it dyes the house). I’m advocating the fun-and-harmless activity of throwing rolls of toilet paper up into trees.
The other reason I loved the concept of TPing was because it’s The Great Unifier. TPing is like the United Nations of high school. Everyone is out there doing it – be it jocks, nerds, druggies, or supers (our school’s label for the super group, like The Plastics from Mean Girls) – all joined for one common purpose.
So if a teacher looked out their window, they’d see Uganda, Guam, Tanzania, and Yemen working together on their front lawn. And a single tear would drop from their eye … because they really don’t want to clean this crap up.
Perhaps the coolest aspect of TPing was that most everyone turned the other cheek. There were always threats of grocery stores not selling TP to students, and rumblings that cops were gonna crack some heads, but they never did. They just let it happen. (The police station even got hit every year.) It was like a free pass to cause trouble. But one that still seemed exhilarating because of those crack-some-heads rumors. Or the “fact” that Kelly’s cousin who moved away used to go out with this kid that got shot by an old principal for trespassing. Yeah. It happened. She told me.
A Toilet Paper Tradition
Trevor Kupfer, illustrated by Josh Smeltzer | October 15, 2012
Every fall, as the people of the Chippewa Valley “ooh” and “ahh” at the array of colors, I can’t help but feel a tiny void in my heart. There’s just something missing. They really need some long wisps of pastel pink, baby blue, and quilted white dangling from the branches and shifting in the breeze like thousands of cheap windsocks. They need toilet paper.
I’d imagine not unlike the local high schoolers today, when I was in high school fall meant homecoming. But where I grew up (the faraway land of southeast Wisconsin), if you asked a student what homecoming meant, one thing instantly sprang to mind. Toilet paper.
The Issue with Tissue – Is your toilet paper made from Old Growth Forests?
FAQ
What is a toilet paper tree?
How do you get toilet paper off trees?
How many trees is one roll of toilet paper?
Is rolling yards illegal in Alabama?
What is toilet papering & how does it work?
Toilet papering (also called TP-ing, house wrapping, yard rolling, or simply rolling) is the act of covering an object, such as a tree, house, or another structure with toilet paper. This is typically done by throwing numerous toilet paper rolls in such a way that they unroll in midair and thus fall on the targeted object in multiple streams.
Does toilet paper come from trees?
The short answer is yes, toilet paper does indeed come from trees. Toilet paper is made from a soft wood called spruce. Spruce trees are often planted specifically for the purpose of making toilet paper, as they are fast-growing and have long fibers that make them ideal for this purpose.
What is a toilet paper tradition?
A Toilet Paper Tradition – a classic prank that needs to see a Every fall, as the people of the Chippewa Valley “ooh” and “ahh” at the array of colors, I can’t help but feel a tiny void in my heart. There’s just something missing.
What is toilet paper made out of?
Toilet paper is made from a soft wood called spruce. Spruce trees are often planted specifically for the purpose of making toilet paper, as they are fast-growing and have long fibers that make them ideal for this purpose. The wood is harvested in the winter, when the trees are dormant and the bark is easy to remove.