These days it's uncommon to see people without a cell phone in their hands while carrying on their every day lives. This includes from personal experience, talking while using a public toilet. Why the necessity and urgency to communicate with someone while answering nature's call to put it politely, is a mystery to me. I've been privy to people in nearby stalls gossiping on their cell phones while using the toilet facilities, making social arrangements and other inconsequential chatter. It can wait people! But I digress.
Research conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London, a study suggested that one in six cell phones is - wait for it - contaminated with faecal matter, according to research for Global Handwashing Day, which took place on October 15. The researchers took almost 400 samples from phones ande hands in twelves British cities. Their findings are interesting in that 16% of phones and 16% of hands harbored E. coli bacteria.
Although 95% of people said they washed their hands with soap where possible, 92% of phones and 82% of hands had bacteria on them. Furthermore, 16% of hands and 16% of phones were found to harbour E. coli – bacteria of a faecal origin. Thinking further, this indicates at least to me that not everyone washes their hands when possible and not everyone tells the truth when asked.
Researchers travelled to 12 cities in various locations in England and took 390 samples from mobile phones and hands which were analysed in the lab to find out the type and number of germs lurking there. They also asked participants a series of questions about their handwashing habits.
To get back to National Handwashing Day, how many people reading this were even aware that this was a day put aside to - well - draw attention to the importance of washing hands. In the way of background information, the day was established by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing in 2008 to:
• Foster and support a global culture of handwashing with soap.
• Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in every country.
• Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.
Global Handwashing Day was originally created for children and schools, but can be celebrated by anyone promoting handwashing with soap.
Each year, over 200 million people are involved in celebrations in over 100 countries around the world. Global Handwashing is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, and individuals.
Thinking further (again), 200 million people world wide are involved are involved in some way to the act of washing their hands.
Here's a link for Global Handwashing Day: http://www.globalhandwashingday.org/About.asp
Showing posts with label toilet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toilet. Show all posts
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Cleaning up on toilet etiquette
For most of us a bathroom serves as a utilitarian tool in which to perform certain bodily functions and then we depart. It doesn't rate as a primary focus in as far as the surrounding utilities are concerned. On the other hand using a public bathroom can be a somewhat daunting experience especially when cleanliness is an issue. In some coutries, bathroom etiquette plays an important role in society. Take Singapore for example, who recently launched the public campaign, LOO or Let's Observe Ourselves, in an effort to clean up its public bathroom image. Taking those three words at face value and given the subject being bathrooms... but I digress. Anyway...
Having 30,000 public washrooms, the city-state is making a conservative effort to make 70% of them 'three-star-clean' by the year 2013. In a survey conducted by the Restroom Association (Singapore), only 500 of their toilets overall were up to standards that include working facilities (presumably referring to toilets that flush and/or don't over-flow), lack of visible trash and odor and the presence of hand soap and toilet paper or hand dryer. Speaking/writing of electric hand-dryers, why is it that so many public washrooms use hand dryers that make a lot of noise but have barely any air, hot or cold, to dry hands? It's easier to use toilet paper that ends up sticking to wet hands but again I digress.
RAS President, Tan Puay Hoon, told reporters at a press conference that in Singapore culture, toilets indicate how civilized the population is. Actually, the state of toilets anywhere and everywhere says something about a given society. In visiting various countries in Europe, I've come across facilities that include a drain in the middle of a tiled floor to relieve oneself. The first assumption was that the toilet had been removed for whatever reason but then after checking with the owner of said bathroom it appears that one squats and... You get the picture.
The RAS rates toilets from three to five stars depending on the quality of the facilities. For example, a four star toilet would have a diaper-changing place or urinal for children, whereas a five-star rating would have eco-friendly features like water-saving taps.
To call attention to its 3-year blueprint on public restroom and a public awareness program, the RAS launched LOO@Heartlands -- the first coffee shop with a five-star toilet. The RAS said it would also distribute packets of pocket paper with restroom how-to etiquette messages to toilet users during peak hours at shops nearby.
The RAS was founded in 1998 as a non-profit organization and says it is dedicated to promoting the cleanliness, design and functionality of public toilets in Singapore.
The LOO Campaign began in 2008. The RAS has also conducted the Happy Toilet School education program and is a founding member of the World Toilet Organization and the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement.
When it comes to bathrooms, Singapore wants to be flushing with pride. Don't we all?
Having 30,000 public washrooms, the city-state is making a conservative effort to make 70% of them 'three-star-clean' by the year 2013. In a survey conducted by the Restroom Association (Singapore), only 500 of their toilets overall were up to standards that include working facilities (presumably referring to toilets that flush and/or don't over-flow), lack of visible trash and odor and the presence of hand soap and toilet paper or hand dryer. Speaking/writing of electric hand-dryers, why is it that so many public washrooms use hand dryers that make a lot of noise but have barely any air, hot or cold, to dry hands? It's easier to use toilet paper that ends up sticking to wet hands but again I digress.
RAS President, Tan Puay Hoon, told reporters at a press conference that in Singapore culture, toilets indicate how civilized the population is. Actually, the state of toilets anywhere and everywhere says something about a given society. In visiting various countries in Europe, I've come across facilities that include a drain in the middle of a tiled floor to relieve oneself. The first assumption was that the toilet had been removed for whatever reason but then after checking with the owner of said bathroom it appears that one squats and... You get the picture.
The RAS rates toilets from three to five stars depending on the quality of the facilities. For example, a four star toilet would have a diaper-changing place or urinal for children, whereas a five-star rating would have eco-friendly features like water-saving taps.
To call attention to its 3-year blueprint on public restroom and a public awareness program, the RAS launched LOO@Heartlands -- the first coffee shop with a five-star toilet. The RAS said it would also distribute packets of pocket paper with restroom how-to etiquette messages to toilet users during peak hours at shops nearby.
The RAS was founded in 1998 as a non-profit organization and says it is dedicated to promoting the cleanliness, design and functionality of public toilets in Singapore.
The LOO Campaign began in 2008. The RAS has also conducted the Happy Toilet School education program and is a founding member of the World Toilet Organization and the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement.
When it comes to bathrooms, Singapore wants to be flushing with pride. Don't we all?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
You think you have problems department: no flush in space
International Space Station astronauts are eagerly awaiting the arrival of shuttle Discovery since it'sbringing a new pump to mend their broken toilet.
I bet they are! Can you imagine no flushing mechanism in space?
The station's urine collection unit, as opposed to its solid waste unit, has been malfunctioning for several days. NASA said it thought a separator pump was at fault and the three male crew members were operating it manually.
To make room for the new part, NASA has had to remove other equipment from the shuttle, which launches on Saturday.
"Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us," shuttle payload manager Scott Higginbotham said.
The Discovery mission is the second of three to take up key components of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory.
Read the full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7425180.stm
It goes without saying that a working toilet is an absolute necessity, given the gravity situation. One wonders what and how they are disposing of the urine. One shudders to think...
Thought du jour: if a person flushes in space, does anyone hear it?
I bet they are! Can you imagine no flushing mechanism in space?
The station's urine collection unit, as opposed to its solid waste unit, has been malfunctioning for several days. NASA said it thought a separator pump was at fault and the three male crew members were operating it manually.
To make room for the new part, NASA has had to remove other equipment from the shuttle, which launches on Saturday.
"Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us," shuttle payload manager Scott Higginbotham said.
The Discovery mission is the second of three to take up key components of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory.
Read the full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7425180.stm
It goes without saying that a working toilet is an absolute necessity, given the gravity situation. One wonders what and how they are disposing of the urine. One shudders to think...
Thought du jour: if a person flushes in space, does anyone hear it?
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
BRITS HAVE SILLY LAWS IN THEIR BOOKS
There are laws... and there there are silly laws, which make you shake your head in wonderment. Most if not all of them fall into the humor and weird department.
It certainly could be said or written that Britain has some really "interesting" or perplexing laws in their books.
- It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (those feeling impending death should drag themselves outside or face the full force of the law)
- It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (no mention of side-ways).
- In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store
- Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day
- In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter
- A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet
- The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen (and I'm sure the Queen has a vast collection of whale tails that she flips through, frequently)
- It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing ("my but you're wearing a beautiful suit/outfit, today!")
- It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (unless there's a particularly hot topic under debate, perhaps)
- In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (doesn't everyone carry bow and arrows on their person these days?)
No mention of the fines imposed on disobeying the rules.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071106/od_afp/britainlawsoffbeat
Writers and Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
It certainly could be said or written that Britain has some really "interesting" or perplexing laws in their books.
- It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (those feeling impending death should drag themselves outside or face the full force of the law)
- It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (no mention of side-ways).
- In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store
- Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day
- In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter
- A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet
- The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen (and I'm sure the Queen has a vast collection of whale tails that she flips through, frequently)
- It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing ("my but you're wearing a beautiful suit/outfit, today!")
- It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (unless there's a particularly hot topic under debate, perhaps)
- In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (doesn't everyone carry bow and arrows on their person these days?)
No mention of the fines imposed on disobeying the rules.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071106/od_afp/britainlawsoffbeat
Writers and Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
TOILET EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Being that November 19th, World Toilet Day, is almost upon (or beneath) us, couldn't help but note this news item. After all - using the toilet is part of our daily life. Right?
Seems that public bathrooms are an uncommon source of controversy with experts arguing over how their usage can avoid discrimination by class or sex.
Actually I have to confess it never entered my mind as to using the toilet being a discriminating act but then go know...
"In the USA, but also in many other parts of the world - including India ... issues having to do with human waste are taboo from public discussion. It is a last frontier," said Harvey Molotch, a professor of cultural analysis at New York University (NYU).
To be honest it's not a topic most likely many of us think about. Write about, however...
At a conference in New York City organised by NYU and the New York Architecture Centre, architects, sociologists, designers, activists, health officials and city leaders have gathered to discuss how the toilets of the future might be overhauled, and debate the potential civic and social effects.
The conference also saw the premiere of the film "Q2P", written and directed by India's Paromita Vohra.
The documentary, filmed in Mumbai with its title an abbreviation of "queue to pee," takes a long look - 55 minutes worth - at public facilities. The film depicts who uses public toilets including sexual, social and even caste nuances.
One (me) wonders the methodology used and who actually held the camera and whether or not said person(s) entered the hallowed internal world of the bathroom and/or stall.
The conference, "Outing the water closet," according to NYU, aims to reconsider and rebuild the public toilet.
Oh? Now bathrooms are being..."outed"? What were they before one wonders...
Parallel to the gathering in New York, some 170 delegates from dozens of countries were attending in India another international conference on access to bathrooms.
Non-governmental groups such as the German Toilet Organisation were to press their campaign for a universal right to clean lavatories, especially for women.
"Access to appropriate sanitation is a human right," reads one of the group's slogans. "It's time to break the 'toilet taboo'."
"This silence disables everyone to some degree, but particularly certain groups - women most clearly," Mr Molotch said of the taboos on discussing the issue in some countries.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/05/2081379.htm
Seems that public bathrooms are an uncommon source of controversy with experts arguing over how their usage can avoid discrimination by class or sex.
Actually I have to confess it never entered my mind as to using the toilet being a discriminating act but then go know...
"In the USA, but also in many other parts of the world - including India ... issues having to do with human waste are taboo from public discussion. It is a last frontier," said Harvey Molotch, a professor of cultural analysis at New York University (NYU).
To be honest it's not a topic most likely many of us think about. Write about, however...
At a conference in New York City organised by NYU and the New York Architecture Centre, architects, sociologists, designers, activists, health officials and city leaders have gathered to discuss how the toilets of the future might be overhauled, and debate the potential civic and social effects.
The conference also saw the premiere of the film "Q2P", written and directed by India's Paromita Vohra.
The documentary, filmed in Mumbai with its title an abbreviation of "queue to pee," takes a long look - 55 minutes worth - at public facilities. The film depicts who uses public toilets including sexual, social and even caste nuances.
One (me) wonders the methodology used and who actually held the camera and whether or not said person(s) entered the hallowed internal world of the bathroom and/or stall.
The conference, "Outing the water closet," according to NYU, aims to reconsider and rebuild the public toilet.
Oh? Now bathrooms are being..."outed"? What were they before one wonders...
Parallel to the gathering in New York, some 170 delegates from dozens of countries were attending in India another international conference on access to bathrooms.
Non-governmental groups such as the German Toilet Organisation were to press their campaign for a universal right to clean lavatories, especially for women.
"Access to appropriate sanitation is a human right," reads one of the group's slogans. "It's time to break the 'toilet taboo'."
"This silence disables everyone to some degree, but particularly certain groups - women most clearly," Mr Molotch said of the taboos on discussing the issue in some countries.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/05/2081379.htm
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
WOMAN SWEARS AT TOILET AND GETS ARRESTED
There are times especially in trying circumstances, when yelling obscenities is the only means in which to vent one's frustrations. Frequently, the recipient of the obscenities can be an inanimate object, in which case it's merely a one-sided swearing situation with no one being hurt. Perhaps but not always.
Take the case of this woman who lives in Pennsylvania that is facing a jail sentence for shouting profanities at her over-flowing toilet. You read it right.
The female in question, one Dawn Herb, was in her own home in West Scranton when a neighbor who just happened to be a police officer by chance, heard her swearing through an open window. He responded by asking her to "keep it down" and when she continued her tirade, his police colleagues were called out and believe it or not, she was charged with disorderly conduct. She is now facing up to - wait for it - 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $300.
I mean - c'mon! Gimme a break! First of all the lady...female was in the privacy of her own home. It wasn't as if the recipient of her verbal abuse was alive or anything. We're talking here about a toilet that backed up with water over-flowing on to the floor! Logically and perhaps this is the wrong term to use in this case, who was hurt? More to the point did the swearing affect the flow of the water one way or the other?
I think not!
There is no information available as to the price of a plumber to fix the situation, which would be added to that of her fine. All-in-all, it must have been a very trying experience for her. There is also no information whether the errant toilet was bought on sale. Not that it makes any difference...
http://www.sparkweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071016/NEWS/71016036
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=bizarre&id=5709833
Writers & Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
Take the case of this woman who lives in Pennsylvania that is facing a jail sentence for shouting profanities at her over-flowing toilet. You read it right.
The female in question, one Dawn Herb, was in her own home in West Scranton when a neighbor who just happened to be a police officer by chance, heard her swearing through an open window. He responded by asking her to "keep it down" and when she continued her tirade, his police colleagues were called out and believe it or not, she was charged with disorderly conduct. She is now facing up to - wait for it - 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $300.
I mean - c'mon! Gimme a break! First of all the lady...female was in the privacy of her own home. It wasn't as if the recipient of her verbal abuse was alive or anything. We're talking here about a toilet that backed up with water over-flowing on to the floor! Logically and perhaps this is the wrong term to use in this case, who was hurt? More to the point did the swearing affect the flow of the water one way or the other?
I think not!
There is no information available as to the price of a plumber to fix the situation, which would be added to that of her fine. All-in-all, it must have been a very trying experience for her. There is also no information whether the errant toilet was bought on sale. Not that it makes any difference...
http://www.sparkweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071016/NEWS/71016036
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=bizarre&id=5709833
Writers & Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
SHERYL CROW TALKS TOILET TISSUE
Singer Sheryl Crow is big on the fight against global warming and all green-related causes in general.
Good for her!
In her blog, www.sherylcrow.com/news.aspx?nid=7786 she is urging people - us - to use "only one square (of toilet paper) per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two or three could be required."
O-kay...
So like...I'm wondering under what conditions are we allowed or sanctioned to use more than one? I guess or presume she's referring to illness like stomach flu or virus where one would definitely not suffice, or following a particularly large-ish meal.
Have to confess that on occasion and when hand-dryers are broken or take to long to actually dry hands, I've used toilet tissue!
Forgive me Sheryl but it's true!
The problem with using toilet tissue is that due to its structural nature especially in public bathrooms where it's generally 1-ply quality, the tissue disintegrates where tissue meets wet hands and breaks down into small, irritating pieces that stick to your hands.
Rosie O'Donnell who always has something interesting to comment about, made a point: "Have you seen my a--?"
Interestingly enough, the singer's contract according to The Smoking Gun, www.thesmokinggun.com when touring calls for parking space for three tractor trailers, four buses, six cars.
O-kay...
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Good for her!
In her blog, www.sherylcrow.com/news.aspx?nid=7786 she is urging people - us - to use "only one square (of toilet paper) per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two or three could be required."
O-kay...
So like...I'm wondering under what conditions are we allowed or sanctioned to use more than one? I guess or presume she's referring to illness like stomach flu or virus where one would definitely not suffice, or following a particularly large-ish meal.
Have to confess that on occasion and when hand-dryers are broken or take to long to actually dry hands, I've used toilet tissue!
Forgive me Sheryl but it's true!
The problem with using toilet tissue is that due to its structural nature especially in public bathrooms where it's generally 1-ply quality, the tissue disintegrates where tissue meets wet hands and breaks down into small, irritating pieces that stick to your hands.
Rosie O'Donnell who always has something interesting to comment about, made a point: "Have you seen my a--?"
Interestingly enough, the singer's contract according to The Smoking Gun, www.thesmokinggun.com when touring calls for parking space for three tractor trailers, four buses, six cars.
O-kay...
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)