The Butt-Photocopying Statistic Is Total BS

You've probably seen this "fact" shared with a knowing smirk: 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts. It's the perfect office humor statistic—specific enough to sound researched, absurd enough to be memorable.

There's just one problem. It's completely made up.

Where Did This Number Come From?

Nobody knows. And that's the first red flag.

The claim has bounced around the internet since at least the early 2000s, appearing in email forwards, trivia lists, and "weird facts" compilations. But despite extensive searching, no journalist or fact-checker has ever found:

• A manufacturer study supporting it
• A repair service that tracked this data
• An insurance company claim analysis
• Any original source whatsoever

The number just... exists. Floating through cyberspace like a ghost statistic, eternally unattributed.

The Math Doesn't Add Up

Let's think about this critically. Photocopier faults include paper jams, toner issues, mechanical failures, software glitches, and general wear. For nearly a quarter of all faults to come from people sitting on the glass, office workers worldwide would need to be absolutely obsessed with documenting their posteriors.

Modern copier glass is typically rated to hold 20-50 pounds of downward pressure. While sitting on one could theoretically crack it, this would be a dramatic, obvious failure—not a subtle "fault" that accounts for routine repair calls.

Why We Want to Believe It

This fake fact persists because it confirms something we suspect: people do weird things when they think no one's watching.

Office party photocopier incidents are a real phenomenon. Repair technicians have definitely seen things. The comedic archetype exists for a reason. But there's a massive gap between "this happens sometimes" and "this causes 23% of all copier problems globally."

The statistic also has that sweet spot of specificity. Not "many" or "a lot"—exactly 23%. That precision makes it feel researched, even though the number was almost certainly invented to sound credible.

The Real Office Copier Villains

Actual copier fault data (from companies that, you know, actually track it) tells a less entertaining story:

• Paper jams — The undisputed champion of copier problems
• Toner and ink issues — Streaks, smears, and empty cartridges
• Worn rollers and feeders — General mechanical aging
• User error — Wrong settings, forgotten originals, mystery buttons

Butt-related glass damage doesn't crack the top ten.

A Lesson in Fake Facts

The photocopier statistic is a perfect example of how misinformation spreads. It's funny, shareable, and just plausible enough that people don't question it. No one's going to call Xerox to verify.

So next time you see a suspiciously specific percentage attached to a ridiculous claim, ask yourself: who counted this, and why? If the answer is "nobody" and "they didn't," you've probably spotted another fake fact in the wild.