Showing posts with label Bathrooms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bathrooms. Show all posts

July 28, 2015

When Your Pants Are Down

Yesterday in the news was how a drone was used to fly over and take pictures at a nude beach

So at a nude beach, even those that advertise privacy protections, let's face it your walking around in the buff. But still, the use of the drone with a camera was a violation of people's expectations not to be photographed and by those outside the facility.


And about a week earlier, a five year old finds a camera phone in the lady's bathroom in a Starbucks


Yesteday, I had a similar lesson about people's warped sensibilities or perversions (but without the drone or smartphone--this was the low tech version). 


I'm at the pool for a swim after work. 


There are 2 locker rooms for men and women, of course.


But at one point, I see this LADY get out of the pool and head straight for the MEN'S locker room--she actually proceeds to go in one side--through and past the bathrooms, showers, sauna, and lockers--and out the other side to exit the facility. 


So trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, when I get out of the pool, thinking maybe the locker room wasn't clearly marked, I check it--and there is a big sign with a picture (the symbol for men) and you couldn't miss it!


Also, this lady was clearly not new as she gestured a friendly hello to the lifeguard, and she wasn't the slightest bit confused (she had actually made some small talk with me in the pool)   


When she left, as she headed into the men's room, she didn't hesitate, knock on the door or anything, and obviously didn't care whether anyone was in there--dressed or naked.


Perhaps, because the men's locker room is closer to the exit, she was just taking a shortcut--for her, how convenient!


Then again maybe she was a true perv and this was her way of getting some cheap thrills regardless of other people's right to privacy and safety, including those of children. 


In a sense, this is more than just about generalized privacy (such as with information), but even extends to your very privates!


We live in an age when it is a balancing act between sharing and privacy, between openness and modesty, and between doing what's right and pure self-gratification. 


Unfortunately, to put in bluntly, some people just don't seem to give a sh*t about respect for other people's decency or rights, and they will do what they want regardless of the social balancing act or the necessity to use common sense good judgement in public and private.  


The lesson is that when your pants are down, as creepy as it sounds, it's best to assume that someone is always looking or at least may be on the prowl, so be careful out there. ;-)


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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October 24, 2014

Is That Freedom?

This was a funny (-sad) picture I took the other day.

"Freedom Septic"!!!

That's what they name a port-o-potty?

Certainly a very strange and loose interpretation of what freedom means to some people 

(Uh, I prefer the Constitution/Bill of Rights version.)

Then again, check out this company's website at the bottom of their signs--I won't go there. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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October 8, 2014

"Shitty" Advertising

Florida is a beautiful, but sometimes a strange place.

I stop in a restaurant to use the restroom.

Now, I know sometimes people put art inside to sort of spiffy the place up.

But in this (semi-fancy) restaurant's restroom, there was actually advertising--yes, right where you do your thing.

And in one spot, they had this sign from Insite Advertising, Inc. for the bathroom advertisements.

"...Thank you for allowing us to spend this time alone with you. We understand that during your hectic day quiet moments are few and far between..."

Well, this was one alone time that was definitely interrupted and a little less quiet.

Isn't there any place we can go anymore without being bombarded by branding, marketing, advertising, selling, and companies trying to make a another quick buck.

Darn, leave us alone and give us our bathrooms back--I'm not buying from you at a time like this! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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November 4, 2013

Let's Switch Locker Rooms

This was one for the books...

They put up a sign at the pool: "Locker rooms will be switched."

I asked the attendant, sort of rhetorically, "What do they mean switched?"

He says, "You know, the men will use the women's locker room, and the women will use the men's locker room!"

I looked and him, and asked innocently, "Do they have urinals in theirs?"

He goes, "No."

Then I continue and ask, "Do they need the urinals in ours?"

He answers, "No!"

So I ask, "Why in G-d's name are you switching the locker rooms?"

The attendant says, "You know, I don't really know, but we do it every year."

Uh, what's up with that! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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July 2, 2013

Dirty Little People

Popular Science had some scary germy statistics about how few people wash their hands well when coming out of the bathroom.

Take a guess?

Only 5%!

And that's based on almost 4,000 people they observed--but how many would've washed correctly if they thought no one was watching?

The dirty stats (while under observation):

- 23% didn't use soap.

- 15% of men and 7% of women didn't even use water.

- Average washed for just 6 seconds! (CDC says you need at least 20 seconds with soap and water to kill germs)

From what I've seen, unless their is a touchless water faucet and automatic towel dispenser, not too many people wash their hands--they don't want to get them dirty by touching the same bathroom devices that the other people just touched.

Another no-no for people is touching the bathroom door handle--more germs!

What do some people do--they use (wads of) toilet seat protectors to pull the door open--then guess what's missing for the next guy or gal?

Most public bathrooms are disgusting--if everyone could just have their own, they would keep it clean out of self-interest and maybe wash their hands a little more too. 

Next time we have a recession and need to invest in "shovel ready" infrastructure projects to keep America working--how about we build some (read lots!) clean bathrooms and throw in the automatic wash features, pretty please. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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February 10, 2013

How's This For A Two-In-One?

CTA makes this pedestal iPad and toilet paper holder--to help you when you really need it. 

Get your information and also your personal cleaning products at the tip of your fingers. 


Many people like to browse, read, or otherwise entertain themselves with the iPad, now you can do it and take care of your other business too. 


The CTA holder has a gooseneck so you can adjust and view at any angle, and it has a heavyweight base to keep it stable and upright. 


Imagine you can even get it at Sears for just $44.32 (or the SupplyStore.com)--affordable, entertaining, and convenient.


You may also want to consider a Philips iPad Splashguard, they come in a three pack.  ;-)

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December 29, 2011

Bathroom De/sign Winner

This is a winner to me when it comes to smartest bathroom signage.
From graphic designer, Aliza Dzik.
I like that the signage identifies the wo/men bathrooms very cleverly and simply (and without any obscene graphics).
Intelligence + Simplicity = User-centric
Love it!
(Source Photo: here)

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February 15, 2008

Bathroom Etiquette and Enterprise Architecture

Every facet of our lives can be enhanced with automation and technology.

The Wall Street Journal, 15 February 2008 reports “Restroom Décor: Germy Doorknobs Inspire Inventors.”

Many people are wary of germs and their disease spewing effects, and no place more so than in public bathrooms (germs “can survive on surfaces for hours or days”).

“A few years ago, after using a filthy gas-station bathroom strewn with soggy toilet paper, Mathew Fulkerson dried his hands under a wall-mounted blower. Then he realized he was trapped: How to leave without touching the door handle?”

The user requirement is clear here; the technology solutions creative (although some are simply using the “pinky pull”, foot pull, or grasping the handle with a paper towel or toilet paper):

  • L-shaped handles—the SantiGrasp “can be pulled with the forearm or wrist” for $124.
  • Sensors—the Sanidoor opens with the wave of a hand at a cost of $1000 installed.
  • Sprays—the HYSO (hygienic Solutions) is a “canister installed above the door handle that sprays it with disinfectant every few minutes…the solution dries instantly.”
  • Ultraviolet lights—“Sanihandles, a door connected to a pair of ultraviolet lamps that kills germs.”
  • Doors that open out—these can be pushed with the shoulder or butt; “last year Massachusetts state Rep. James Vallee introduced a bill on behalf of a constituent that would require all public-bathroom doors to open outward.”

Is there really a need for these elaborate bathroom solutions?

“In an August 2007 study, study sponsored by the Soap and Detergent Association and the American Society for Microbiology, 34% of males observed in public bathrooms across the country didn’t wash their hands; 12% of females didn’t wash up.”

Are hygienic EA solutions user-centric?

They sure are. “Hygiene is a big seller. There are now antimicrobial bedsheets and bacteria-killing carpets. Last year, American Standard introduced a toilet with an antimicrobial coating that suppose to last indefinitely. At Busch’s a supermarket chain in Michigan [and at many others like Trader Joe's], stores have disinfecting wipes near the shopping carts that people push around.”

William Schaffner, vice president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases says that “It’s good to be clean, but one can become obsessive” He says that he doesn’t avoid touching doorknobs, but I for one don't believe him.


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