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October 17, 2020
Don't Forget To Brush
Not so subtle though, right?
Man, what a pair of choppers!
I'm brushing. Believe me.
Don't have to show me twice! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Don't Forget To Brush
May 10, 2016
Creative Washing Sign
Usually these signs that are mandated by health regulations in food establishments remind employees to wash their hands before returning to work.
Of course, given all the Clostridium, E. coli, Hepatitis, Listeria, Norovirus, and Salmonella out there, we know that unfortunately many food workers are not following these instructions very well...yes, yuck!
Here, someone "sanitized" the sign, and rubbed out the "h" and the top part of the "d" in hands and left the crude word, "anus."
Now employees must wash not their hands, but their anus (does that help in food preparation?)!
Perhaps, whoever did this are lobbyists for some sort of bidets in this country.
Given all the political crap that goes on around this town, this may be a very good idea. ;-)
(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
Creative Washing Sign
March 31, 2016
Say W.H.O.
So funny!
This was posted by Federal Occupational Health in the organization's gym.
Publisher is the World Health Organization.
I don't think this translates well from Switzerland.
I'm not going to say another word.
(Source Photo: Colleague)
Say W.H.O.
July 22, 2013
Do NOT Wash Hands
It's a drinking fountain and says: "Please do not wash your hands. Thank you."
So somebody wrote underneath it "here."
And somebody else crossed that out and wrote "ever."
I guess people are fed up with all the signs reminding them to wash.
Seems like we have a hygiene rebellion on our hands! ;-)
(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
Do NOT Wash Hands
April 29, 2013
Bathroom Kudos
I wondered what a strange sign to put in such a private setting as if we need applause for going to the bathroom or washing our hands.
Then again, if you've seen many men's bathrooms, it could certainly be a time for kudos when it is kept clean and people use good personal hygiene--hence, the other sticker on the left, "It's cool to care!"
The frog sticker in the middle, he's just keeping an eye on things and thanking everyone for the job well done.
This is a funny commentary on our society these days where people seem to need a pat on the back for everything--even the highly mundane and personal.
Presumably, going to the men's room will never be the same boring, uncaring event again--at least at this fine eating establishment. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Bathroom Kudos
August 21, 2012
Howie Mandel Was Right All Along
If you don't, this little green slime creature is going to come and get you.
It reminded me of the other day heading into the bathroom, and I see this guy coming the other way out of one of the Stalls.
He actually does head to the sink to the wash his hands--he's in the minority in this country, I understand.
Well the sink is one of the automatic ones and has no faucets.
The guy sticks his hands underneath....nothing.
He starts waving his (dirty) hands...and still nothing.
After the third try...he throws his hands up, looks at me, and says, "Now that's awkward" and proceeds to walk out the bathroom holding his hands literally at full arms length.
I hoped that he didn't run into anyone he knows on the way and reached out to shake their hands--because they would've gotten a nasty surprise, indeed.
This sign tells it the way it is--sorry folks. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Howie Mandel Was Right All Along
October 12, 2011
High-Tech Pooper Scoopers
High-Tech Pooper Scoopers
September 17, 2011
Peepoo, It's All In The Bag
Peepoo, It's All In The Bag
October 1, 2010
Awesome Emergency Management Technologies
So to me, defense systems (a topic for another blog) and emergency management systems are two of the most fascinating and compelling areas of technology.
Recently, I have been closely following the story of the Chilean miners trapped beneath 2,200 feet of rock and earth due to a cave-in on 5 August.
It took 17 days to even find the miners in the winding underground mineshaft, and since then the ongoing determination and ingenuity of the emergency rescuers has been incredible.
The Wall Street Journal, 1 October 2010, in an article called “Inventions Ease the Plight of Trapped Miners” describes this unbelievable rescue effort.
Here are some of the technologies making their way a half-mile underground to the 33-trapped miners:
NASA engineers have exclaimed about the innovation shown by the Chilean emergency rescuers: “they are crossing new thresholds here.”
There are some great pictures and graphics of these devices at an article in the U.K. Telegraph.
What was once being targeted as a holiday rescue, by December, is now being envisioned as an October-November rescue operation. And with the continued application of innovation and technology, the miners will soon we back safe with their families and loved ones.
Also, ongoing kudos to the heroic rescuers!
Awesome Emergency Management Technologies
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.
Bathroom Etiquette and Enterprise Architecture