James Reviews Sudoku Themed Toilet Paper

What do you get the man who has everything?

Probably not Sudoku Loo Roll. He’ll already have some if he’s got everything and no-one needs two rolls of Sudoku themed toilet paper.

But if you’re trying to buy a gift for the man who never really wants anything, then Sudoku Loo Roll could well be a winner.

My dad is one such man. Never a fan of birthdays or Christmas or generally making a fuss about anything, he’s not the easiest person to purchase gifts for.

Actually to be fair to him, he is always happy with a bottle of whisky. But I can’t always just buy him a bottle of whisky. Well I could, but it is nice to mix things up occasionally, and I’m not just talking about adding a dash of Coke. Sometimes I get him a nice t-shirt. He seems to like that.

But once I got him Sudoku Loo Roll.

I need to add some context here. Sudoku toilet paper is a much cheaper gift than whisky and/or a t-shirt. So for the sake of full disclosure, it was quite a significant birthday and my sisters and I had collaborated on an appropriately expensive ‘big gift’ and then bought a few jokey presents for him to open as well. Buying Sudoku Loo Roll in that scenario is ok. It probably shouldn’t ever be anyone’s main birthday present though.

Incidentally there was also a bottle of whisky. We had the label personalised. He didn’t really notice the label but he did like the whisky. If I’m presenting my dad as some kind of alcoholic, he really isn’t. Equally he’s not really a connoisseur. Indeed you could present him with ‘the finest single malt’ or ‘whatever-was-on-offer-in-the-supermarket’ and he’d be equally happy but he would also drink it sensibly and in moderation.

Surprisingly he loved the Sudoku Loo Roll. I think, in the history of all the gifts I’ve ever bought him, Sudoku Loo Roll is up there with the most successful.

I suppose he likes it because it does bring together two of his favourite pastimes. Because my dad loves a good Sudoku puzzle and he also loves spending time on the toilet.

Yes my dad spends an awfully long time going to the loo. As a child I used to think that my dad might have some kind of medical condition. I was less worried for his sake and more worried that I might inherit it.

It transpires that he’s perfectly healthy. It turns out that the bathroom was something of a sanctuary for my dad when my siblings and I were growing up. It was a space he could retire to with a good book and just be left alone.

Now we’re all grown up it’s just an established habit. But he no longer needs his book, because he has Sudoku Loo Roll.

Sudoku toilet paper can be used for two different functions but, as with Drumstick Pencils, it really is a case of choosing one over the other. My dad has chosen Sudoku, given that there is also non-Sudoku toilet paper available in my parents’ bathroom. But he still likes to complete the toilet paper Sudoku when on the toilet, even though he could theoretically do the puzzles in any room. I suppose, by keeping it in the bathroom he’s making contingencies for a toilet paper emergency should one arise.

He’s sensible like that.