Albany is famous for a lot of firsts: modern electricity for one and billiard balls as we know them today. But wipe away this Albany original and the world would all be lost. Spectrum News is talking about perforated toilet paper, which was first created in the Capital city.

The first toilet paper was invented in the late 1850s, but Albany is responsible for the modernized version used presently in roll form. And just to prove how serious its inventor Seth Wheeler was, he left behind diagrams from his 1891 patent, solving the long debated argument of over vs under. 

The factory that it was first produced in still stands in the Albany warehouse district. At the time it was the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company, where they made a variety of paper products. You would not know by looking at it but this is the birthplace of modern toilet paper.

With his factory in the warehouse district, Wheeler's home was on Lark Street. We would rather not think of the amount of product experimentation that went on in there.

The next time you find yourself sitting around, make sure to remember Wheeler and his amazing creation. Butt always remember, Albany played a key role in one of the world’s most unheralded inventions.

And for the record, the patent clearly states the paper goes over — unless you look at Wheeler's other patent where it goes under. The debate certainly rages on.