No one can deny that over the last 30 years there have been major advances in technology.
We have smart phones, iPads, iPods, alarm systems, remote controls, gps navigation,
hell, you can even call your car to see if it needs an oil change. These advances have
gone a long way to make our lives easier. However, some inventions have not made our
lives all that easier. In my opinion, the most annoying of these is the automatic
bathroom fixture.
I’m not sure what sadist with a dimented penchant for causing frustration designed this
fixture of evil, but we need to hunt them down and flog them! I don’t know how many
times I stand up to a sink waving my hands like an idiot, hoping the water will come out.
The fixtures in my office work this way: You hold your hands under the water, the soap
dispenses. You hold your hands under the soap dispenser, the water turns on. The only
way to get my hands clean is to leave the office and drive to the 7-11!
The only thing I know for sure is that there must be cameras in bathrooms around the
country filming people attempting to wash their hands. They must then load these videos
to You Tube and laugh hysterically while we spend a half an hour waving at, smacking,
berating, and eventually giving up our efforts at cleanliness.
I have no doubt these devices were sold with the idea they would be more sanitary. But
how sanitary can something be if the end result is that you can’t wash? If you’re lucky
and the water does come out, it’s cold, and there’s no way it will have any effect on
whatever germs you encountered during your 30 minute stay. If you have an automatic
dryer, or paper towel dispencer, you can’t even dry your hands. Most likely none of it
will work at all, and you just end up spitting in your palms and rubbing your hands on
your pant legs. How sanitary is that?
I think with all the advancements in the world, there’s one or two that aren’t ready yet,
and the automatic bathroom is one of them. Besides, how difficult is it to turn a knob?
If you’re concerned about sanitation, then use a papertowel to turn it on. And who
thought up the automatic toilet? This HAD to be a guy. I guess that’s not entirely
fair. I’m sure there was female involvement. I have no doubt that after years of
frustration the motivation for an automatic stool sounded something like this: “UNLESS
YOU FIND A WAY FOR THAT THING TO WORK AUTOMATICALLY, THEN FLUSH THE DAMN TOILET!”
Invention is born!
I truly understand that sanitation is an issue. There’s study after study which
identify the amount of germs and bacteria that are carried through the hands. Not a day
goes by that someone is out of work due to the passing of germs through the hands. I
have no doubt this causes millions in lost production. However, how much study has been
done with these folks identifying the extra hour and a half someone spends in the
bathroom each day getting that fixtures to work? I want to see that study. I’m sure the
end figure is equally as high.
So given the current failure in automatic bathrooms, why don’t we do a little more
research before we put these things out to the public? This would go miles in making our
days much easier. Let’s go back to the tried and true. For many people turning on a
faucet is the only exercise they get during the day. If you take away then what’s left?
Rex