The bathroom conundrum

We live in a society constantly seeking ease. Why take the stairs when you can take the escalator? Why take the escalator when you can take the elevator? Why take either when you can shop online from home?

No matter how easy something is, there seems to be the constant search to find an easier way. Have separate remotes for your tv and dvd? Too much trouble. Get a universal remote. Want to watch netflix? Too much to sign in, let your playstation do it for you.

Well, as part of the search for ease, so many things these days are automatic.

Doors open before you get to them, triggered by electronic magic. Lights turn on when motion is detected. Toilets flush themselves.

Ah, yes, the classic flushing toilet. So many people seem to be incapable of flushing that toilets are automatic now. Fortunately, we have not yet reached the point where they actually perform the bowel movements for us...I fear the day the mystical electronic magic reaches into the sphincter region and extracts the waste.

Anyhow, you then (hopefully) proceed to the sink.

And there we encounter one of my favorite ironic conundrums of nonsensical stupidity.

You turn the faucet on, then the soap self-dispenses.

Please, please, please...someone tell me what is the point?

Let's think about this for a second. You wash your hands because you do not want to spread germs. Okay, fair enough.

You turn the water on when? Oh, yeah, right...BEFORE you wash your hands. So any germs you had pre-wash are now on the faucet handles.

You then wash and reach up to turn off the faucet...thus having safely deposited the germs you wanted to cleanse in a safe location you have to touch again.

In a saner world, would not the water turn on automatically and the soap be what you did not care if you touched?

Just sayin'

2 comments:

Riot Kitty said...

A very good point! What I really hate are the automatic paper towel dispensers that break, but you don't notice until you've waved your hand in front of them enough to embarrass yourself...oops.

G. B. Miller said...

My kind sir, most restaurants have automated faucets, thus the last sentence of your thoughtful post actually came true.