Sometimes the simplest things catch my attention and I have to share it with my friends at work. There are lots of smart women there that are able to solve most any problem so when Polly dropped by my office I casually mentioned that it was impossible for me to wash my hands in the bathroom , to thoroughly lather, then rinse, without touching my hands to the sink because the faucet was so short. We had a detailed discussion about hand washing and she told me she never had any problem. I asked her how she did it - and she did a pretend washing and rinsing demo for me there at my desk. Then she left my office presumably to go back to work.
I still wondered how she did that. Were my hands just too big and clunky to rinse without touching the back of the sink? I tried to work but couldn't get this hand washing issue out of my head. I'd tried several times to rinse without touching and always ended up with some part of my hand touching the back of the sink, which to me meant, other people were touching the sink too so there had to be germs lurking right there in the basin I was using to clean my hands.
About 30 minutes later, my friend reappeared at my doorway. "You're right" she said, "I can't rinse my hands without touching the back of the sink." We both laughed the kind of laugh that you only hear late on Friday afternoon in our office. Not that it matters - everyone knows the germs jump right back on your hands when you open the bathroom door anyway. But now, I want to ask others at work if they can do this feat of "good hygene" with success?
Yes it's silly - but it isnt just me. Remember my friend Polly.... do you think she spent 30 minutes trying to wash her hands without touching the back of the sink? Maybe not, that's Just What I Thought....
