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Five flushing facts as a Chinese park says people are using too much loo roll

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loo roleImage source, iStock

Have you ever been told you're too greedy with loo roll?

A park in Beijing in China say that it's a real problem for them, and they're using technology to stop people taking more than their fair share.

They've installed facial recognition machines, so that the loo roll dispenser can recognise visitors' faces, and stop them from getting extra.

The park say it's because some visitors have been taking more paper than they need, and stuffing it into their bags to take home.

They've tried putting posters up and making announcements asking people to stop, but nothing worked... so they say it's time to go high tech !

Image source, AFP

The machine works by scanning visitors faces when they want to take loo roll, and then remembering their face, so it won't give them any more for the next 9 minutes.

That means if you wanted to stock up for your own bathroom you'd have to stand around for quite a long time!

Some people have said that they won't get enough, but the park says that anyone in desperate need (like if they have diarrhoea) can ask staff for extra.

Five Flushing Facts:

This machine gives each visitor just one strip of loo role, about 70cm long.

The average piece of toilet paper is about 11cm long, so that's just under six sheets per person per trip to the loo.

The use of paper for hygiene purposes has been recorded in China as far back as the 6th century AD.

Specifically manufactured toilet paper started being mass-produced in China during the 14th century.

Modern toilet paper originated in the 19th century, with a the first roll-based version dispensers being made in 1883.