Recently I've found myself doing this whole experimental routine in the men's room - will the toilet flush automatically? Where's the sweet spot to get the tap to emit water? If I move my hands counter-clockwise will it get hotter?* Let's see, is the soap manual or sensor-based? How do I get a paper towel? (How do I get the paper towels to stop?)
And every time I go through my robot-influenced dance performance in front of a paper towel dispenser, I think of this prophetic section from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin as Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wavebands for news of himself. The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive - you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same programme.Seriously, is the bathroom a place where you want to "wave your hand...and hope"?
- Sid
* Wait, this may be a brilliant idea. Let's get on that, Science.
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