Five Squares

I thought that one square was enough?

Roswell, Ga. - Richard Thorne grins as he waves his hand under a toilet paper dispenser in a women’s restroom. The machine spits five sheets of tissue into his grasp.

A year in the works, the electronic tissue dispenser is being rolled out to the masses by Kimberly-Clark Professional as it seeks to capture more of the $1 billion away-from-home toilet paper market. The company believes most people will be satisfied with five sheets - and use 20% less toilet paper.

“Most people will take the amount given,” says Thorne. Waxing philosophical, he adds, “People generally in life will take what you give them.”

But isn’t that a very true, if sad, human trait?  It is on this truism of human nature that socialism is built.