From Girlfriend:
Bathroom Etiquette: Wipe, wash and no signage! (NOT a micturation blog)
We all know proper bathroom etiquette, right? I guess for girls it’s a little different than for boys, but basically, if you miss, wipe it up and wash your hands when you’re done. It doesn’t take a scientist. And I would know, I’m a scientist. What’s not cool is people posting signs in public bathrooms telling you exactly what proper etiquette is. Really? Am I a child? Is there anyone in my whole building who has never been taught this? Right about now, you’re tempted to say “Yes, Girlfriend, there are people who have never been taught.” But here’s my argument.
My feeling is that people who don’t perform what society considers adequate etiquette, simply don’t care. And you hanging your sign there isn’t going to make them care. Much like protests, hanging signs might make you feel better, but do they really do anything? Is someone going to say “JESUS…there are a thousand people outside my house screaming with signs! Garn, a thousand people can’t possibly be wrong! I guess I’ll change my mind!” Sidetracked. I guess the point is that I think it’s patronizing to hang signs detailing the intimacies of how to wash your hands. And for those people who think that some haven’t been taught…well they’re not going to read it, anyway.
This practice seems to be rampant at my place of work. Everyone has their own version of the sign. We went through a debacle a few years back where a sign appeared hanging on the mirror in front of the sinks that said “Wash your hands! You MUST wash your hands!” That was really the gist of it. Just God demanding you wash your hands. Well the sign disappeared, much to my delight. Apparently someone else feels as I do about bathroom signage. Well, the next day it reappeared and it was signed from one of the senior scientists down the hall (aka God, at least in her mind). As if to say “This is MY sign, and if you don’t like it, you can come tell me, and I will eat you alive.” Well, the sign kept anonymously disappearing. After a month or so, said man-eating-scientist gave up her quest and we’ve all been walking around with dirty hands ever since. Take THAT.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
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1 comment:
Thanks four your post, Girlfriend... I mean, GH--no, that doesn't work, either... oh gosh, this is awkward... How about I call you H&CGF?
I am in complete agreement with you about the annoyance of unnecessary and redundant signage.
I once read about a study that recorded guilt over taking free stuff. They set up the free stuff and a donation box. They recorded how many people just took the stuff without donating anything. Then they did the same test, but this time put a picture of two eyes on the wall. People were more likely to donate if there were eyes on them!
So maybe, if the scientists want to increase handwashing, they should put up a picture of two eyes. It would be an interesting study. Perhaps H&C could be the guy in the corner of the bathroom, recording the data. He's had similar ideas before...
Anyway, post more! I believe you wanted to write about toothpaste...
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