I have balanced all kinds of things on my forehead over the years, including pool cues, ladders, and chainsaws, so when I first looked at a toilet paper roll, I thought it would be easy. I was wrong.
Balancing these rolls is less about strength and more about managing a delicate, ever shifting structure. It is a lesson in patience, finding the right recipe of roll density, and learning how to quiet the nerves that lead to a catastrophic wobble.
My journey started back in 2021, right in the middle of the great COVID 19 toilet paper shortage. Finding enough rolls just to practice was a challenge, and once I secured them, I found that standard, dense rolls were too heavy. Through a process of trial and error, and finding the right medium weight rolls on sale, I developed an inverse pyramid stacking method. After weeks of work and thousands of practice stacks, I captured my first record at 101 rolls.
But as with all records, the title did not stay mine for long. Someone else pushed the bar to 152.
In May 2025, I decided to take it back. I returned to the store, lined up my witnesses, and got to work. The first attempt was a humbling reminder of the biggest enemy in this sport: nerves. If I feel even a hint of hesitation, the stack wobbles. That wobble creates a wave through the compressed layers, and everything comes crashing down.
On my second try, I held steady. I locked in, focused on the micro adjustments required to keep the center of gravity fixed, and successfully balanced 195 rolls for the full 30 seconds.
Taking back that title felt great. But there is always another layer to add.
Whether you are stacking toilet paper or chasing a new goal in your own life, do not let the initial failures or the wobble of nerves keep you from finding your balance. Keep adjusting, stay focused, and keep stacking.