Last time, it was a tiny bathroom at a hospital. Today, it was in Target: I saw a step-by-step process posted on the mirror above the sink that will get your hands nice and clean so you can go out into the store and grab merchandise off the shelves that’s been in people’s dirty, sweaty paws earlier in the day… Target is very concerned about your personal hygiene.
They’re probably environmentally friendly, too. That would help explain why the bathroom had those electric hand dryers that blow hot air onto your hands. They’re cleaner than paper towels, create less waste, etc. They also prevent you from following the step-by-step process posted on the mirror above the sink.
Steps 5 and 6: Dry your hands thoroughly with a paper towel, then use it to turn off the sink.
Is it really that hard to figure out what’s in the bathroom and adjust the instructions accordingly? Why not make a parachute that tells you to “Pull cord to release chute” and don’t include a cord, resulting in someone plummeting to an extremely painful, yet extremely speedy demise? Okay, fine, maybe that example is a little over the top—most people who shop at Target don’t have the kind of cooties that can kill you. At least not on their hands.
I guess it’s kind of like those instructions on hair dryers that say “do not use in the shower”… somewhere out there, there’s probably an idiot (or two) that really DOES needs those instructions.
My issue isn’t with having the instructions–I took a Products Liability class in law school that talked about stuff like people forcing beef through the meat grinder with their hands and suing everyone when it grinds up their fingers. My issue is that without paper towels in the bathroom, Target is providing hand-washing instructions that are *impossible* to follow.