I have to warn you now.
This entry is not going to be pretty.
But someone has got to say something.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Fine... sigh... I'll do it.
I travel quite a bit. I've been on dozens of planes and in countless airports this year.
What's the first thing many people do when they get off the plane?
That's right. They head to the restroom.
Hey, you gotta go, you gotta go, right?
It's something we all do as part of the human race. I guess if you ever need to look at what unites us instead of divides us, there's always the lowest common denominator.
Anyhow, here's the disgusting part. (No really, I'm getting to it.)
Almost every time I use a public restroom (where there are many people), it is inevitable that I'll observe someone leaving without washing their hands.
Now it's not like I go looking for people. But it's pretty obvious when someone exits the stall or urinal area without taking a path to the sink.
And we're talking all kinds of men.
Professionals dressed in suits.
Rough-looking characters dressed in army boots.
And boys whose mother's would go ballistic on them if they saw what I saw.
It's DISGUSTING!
No wonder people spread germs so easily.
These people EAT with those hands. They shake OTHER people's hands. And they touch doorknobs and other things that you or I may interact with.
Gee thanks.
I recently observed one man leaving the restroom after standing at the urinal. I know because he was beside me. We "finished" about the same time. I turned left for the sinks. He went directly out the door.
Ewwwww.
At the baggage claim, I saw him again. He greeted what appeared to be a family member (his Father perhaps?) and shook his hand.
Gross.
Ok, so what's my point?
First of all, if this is you, STOP IT! If you are going to do as nature intended, have the deceny to clean up after yourself. Seriously, you aren't an animal. Show some dignity.
Secondly, maybe it's time we start a national campaign (International, perhaps?)
When you see someone leaving the restroom without cleaning themselves off, say out loud (so it embarrasses them)...
"Dude, wash your hands!"
I've actually done this a few times when I've spotted boys leaving the restroom without washing up. I know what its like as a parent and if I see them exit without washing I will take on the parental role and instruct them to wash up. I'm sure their parents would thank me. Finally, a legitimate use for the phrase "it takes a village."
And the same goes for you ladies.
My wife informs me that some women can be just as disgusting.
Ick.
If we are going to be having hysteria over Swine Flu virus and such, the least we can do is take reasonable precautions against spreading germs.
And if that's not a good enough reason, how about common decency?
If this blog post has alerted just one person to how disgusting their lack of hygiene is, it will have been worth it.
DUDE! Wash your hands!
Overheard in an east coast bathroom:
Harvard man and Yale man finish up and get ready to leave.
Harvard Man sees that Yale man doesn't wash hands and says "At Harvard they taught us to wash our hands after we pee".
Yale Man says "At Yale, they taught us not to pee on our hands".
Or was it the other way around.
Instead of saying "stop it" maybe you should say "start it".
Thanks Joel for this article. I have been just as amazed by the lack of hygiene in this country also. It IS disgusting, and thanks for saying it straight out - even when it might not be popular. :-)
well, said!
did anyone catch that Seinfeld episode when the chef didn't wash his hands after visiting the washroom and then he was making a special pizza for Jerry?
and for a little more entertainment, an award-winning short film a friend of mine made (5 million + views):
Male Washroom Etiquette
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw
LOL... this is so true.
I wash my hands everytime... But You don't want to be overly "clean" because then your immune system grows weak b/c it is never exposed to germs.
Some people wash there hands after everything they do or put that "Germ killer" stuff on their hands!
I think that is one the reason's i don't get sick is b/c I have a healthy immune system and I eat healthy!
But don't worry joel... i wash my hands Every single time! lol
Take Care!
David
Really, the reason to wash your hands after you go to the restroom is not because of going to the restroom but because of everywhere you go and everything you touch while not in the restroom. One is ignorant if they think that the process of going to the restroom is the sole reason for washing your hands, as many other places have the same amount, if not much more in the way of bacteria/germs. (check out* http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/germs-and-where-they-lurk-most.aspx?googleid=250134 *and* http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20040623/germs-theyre-everywhere)
Washing your hands after evacuating your bowels is sanitary and a great idea, though in the case of going #1, for a guy and assuming a urinal, you will undoubtedly encounter the same exact germs from the handle when you leave the restroom. Still, it's never a bad idea to wash your hands periodically because of the things OUTSIDE the bathroom and being in the restroom gives us guys an excuse to take care of some of those germs because we're already right by the sink and don't have to take a special trip, as that would be too much work! And though I can't vouch for the reputability of this as I have not read "The Secret Life of Germs," of the many who do wash their hands, they do not wash them properly; which leads to some people as I have seen online preaching to wash hands because it's sanitary though many themselves may or may not be doing so properly.
Just think about all you've been touching and handling BEFORE you get to the restroom. You might consider washing your hands prior to unzipping.
And may I add, "Dude! Flush!"
Yep... have observed it many, many times. Maybe we should require rubber gloves before entering the restroom.
Taps have to be one of the dirtiest places in the washroom! Remember why the last guy went to wash his hands... well, what was the first thing that he touched with those dirty hands? That is correct - the tap. The next contact he makes is to turn the tap off, so he has re-contaminated himself and the tap is now contaminated without being cleaned. You might as well have helped him wipe himself in the cubicle! The answer is simple. If you want people to wash every time, install motion sensitive (excuse the pun) taps in all public bathrooms. And while we are at it, motion sensitive soap dispensers. The holy grail - contact free washrooms.
Hey Joel!
Maybe we should start a Internation Campaign
It could be awesome to hear in every public toilet: Dude, wash you hands!
CS: Good points, and certainly automatic door opening sensors to avoid pigs from contaminating the rest of us just as important.
Thanks for a good comment, and to Joel for letting us discuss this subject. :-)
Joel, you make a highly valid point here.
If half as much attention and press were spent on "Dude, wash your hands!" as "FREAK OUT!!! Swine flu is coming!" people would be MUCH more likely to remember to wash their hands.
I have always washed my hands after the bathroom (I think it was drilled into me as a child), but after becoming certified in massage therapy, I realized the impact of touch, and how important touch is to humans. So I'm probably more touchy now than I have ever been, and as a result, I habitually wash my hands at least 5 or 6 times/day. Maybe it's OCD, but it's better than spreading germs unnecessarily.
Thanks for the funny post. I'll definitely participate in a national "Dude, wash your hands!" campaign. Maybe you can make an iphone app which yells that sentence really loudly?
Jonathan
http://www.ThreeMoneyMethods.com
Joel it was inevitable that as you climbed deeper into the whole "millionaire thing" that you would eventually become germ-phobic like Howard Hughes.
If you can catch this before you start growing your fingernails really long and storing your urine - or hiring 800 Mormans cause you can't trust anyone anymore - you'll be okay.
xoxo
RB
I am so glad you said something about this. I am an RN and constantly think about germs on hands! I know a guy who pees, then heads for the refrigerator to put his peter fingers all over the food! YUCK! Not to mention this same pig drinks out of the milk gallon jug everyone else has to drink out of. (Especially gross since he has pyorrhea and rotten gums, which is contagious, you know!) Dudes & dudettes, too - WASH YOUR HANDS! And cover your mouths when you cough, too. The ones of us who DO have the sense to wash and cover? Don't touch door knobs, subway railings, stuff in the store, whatever the potty hand people may have touched. If you do, don't touch your mouth, nose or eyes with your hands until you WASH THEM! This is exactly how people catch viruses!!!!
Again, glad you touched on this - seems people are not taught manners anymore these days! :)
I'm joining this campaign! Man, people are disgusting! I don't get it! It takes another freaking thirty seconds to wash (and wipe your hands on your pants if you are that pressed)!
Thank You!!! This is such a pet peeve of mine and being a woman, you're wife is exactly right. Although I do observe quite a few women wash their hands there are also quite a few who do not and I'm just a little disgusted by it as well.
I even go so far as to use my foot instead of my hands to flush (if it's not an automated toilet) but often wonder if there isn't a better way to open up the stall doors (you always have to use your hands to unlatch it) or even a better way to exit a restroom. Usually you have to pull the door handle instead of pushing the door outwards; thus having to touch spots that you know darn well others have used as well without washing their hands.
TMI??? LOL!! :-)
Yes, I'm admittedly a bit of a germ-o-phobe but it's such a simple thing to wash your hands - I'm amazed at the amount of women who actually don't do it.
Bottom line, I agree with you. Rant away!
I have observed this and have always felt the same way.
Thanks for getting it out there, you rock!
P.S.
Funny coming from a guy who invented a fart app. Now you should make an app the says "Dude Wash Your Hands"
OPPs, I think I just gave you your next million $ idea
Joel,
Thank you for writing this article. It is something that needed to be said and maybe a sign should be put on the door of every public restroom.
I used to worked in a fastfood restaurant and I saw the cook go out to empty the garbage in a very, very filthy garbage dump. He went back inside, wiped his hand on his apron and proceeded to cook a raw hamburger. In a restaurant, we are supposed to wash our hands frequently.
Anybody could have gotten sick from that hamburger.
Fact is my wife and kids think I'm a germaphobic because of my indoctrinated routines I insist on when we're out in public, at home too. However, they're coming around to my way of thinking. The cardinal rule is DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING! First, it goes without say, you do not put anything in your mouth before washing your hands, at home and when out in public. It's no biggie going in to a public restroom, but,as parents, we've insisted that the SOP is after you do you thing you go wash. As a previous poster mentioned, the Taps are eat easily the most vile area because, pre-wash, because that's the next thing everyone touches after doing their business. It makes me smile when I see my two boys go to the Tap, wash their hands and close the tap while covering it with the paper they dried their hands with (Hot air blowers without hands-free taps are a nuisance). On the way out, they open the door with the paper they used to dry their hands or their shirt sleeves, for those times when no paper is available; throwing out the paper on the way out. I've even been compelled to let someone else open the door on the way, sometimes timing my exit to coincide with the ebb and flow of traffic.
My wife thinks I'm over the top. But the proof's in the pudding (terrible analogy, I know) as we normally escape flu season unscathed. And yeah, The Suits should know better. I saw a collee professor, repleat with suspenders and bow tie make a beeline for the door and had to fight the urge to say something. Hand-shaking's also gives me thought for pause. Have you ever seen people "going to town" on their faces with their fingers? Ughhh!
You're "passionate" about this??
Uh "Dude", if you're paying attention to what other guys are doing in the restroom, then there is something wrong with that.
Seriously -- I didn't follow you on Twitter to get these kinds of "updates".
Absurd and I'm gone.
I see this happen alllll the time. Even at casinos, people dont wash their hands and then head back to the poker room to handle chips and cards.
We all touch those cards and chips! Gross!
"Seriously, you aren't an animal."
On the contrary sir you are an animal so is every other human on earth. Our problem is that we think we are above nature, dominion we have over the animals. I agree that we should all wash our hands but I do not like this little assertion you make. We are animals with unusually large frontal cerebral lobes that we can use to give reason to the seemingly time consuming and inconvenient act of dousing our hands with water and soapy slime each time we exit a rest room. Further I would add - wash your hands, please and try not to use too much water or soap in the process. Especially if you live on the front range of Colorado. We need all the homo sapiens that have decided to move here to be more conscious of the water they use.
Peace
Well said Joel!
This is definitely one of my pet bugbears as well.
Public toilets are usually gross anyway, especially mens' rooms (cos they pee standing up & can't/don't aim very well!). Be nice if there were motion sensor doors, heat sensor soap & water taps and one didn't have to touch anything in the whole damn room.
The best thing I ever saw in a toilet was in Chicago Airport (I was visiting on holidays from Australia) and the sit-down toilet had this groovy seat device that threaded a plastic bag around the seat itself, so you didn't have to share germs with the previous "tenants"!
It threaded a new sleeve around the seat for each user. :-)
I thought it was brilliant - wish they were common here in Oz...
My girlfriend won't ever use a public toilet - she just grits her teeth & holds on, no matter how urgent it is....
Makes me wonder whether these people got taught basic hygiene at home or school as kids??? Shame on their parents (and them!)
I worked at a place that kept a list of the "non-hand washers" so we'd all know who they were...and then we'd know to tell them the battery was dead on our cellphones if they asked to borrow them...
Joel,
I hate paperless rest rooms to the point that if I'm in a place that is known to have paperless rest rooms, like fast food joints, I grab a stack of napkins before I go in.
There were several comments about the "taps" or the faucet handle having germs on them but few comments about the door the person went directly to without washing his or her hands. Why wash your hands and then go grab the dirty door handle with your bare hands? Yuck!!
I don't care how much water it wastes, if the faucet has a manual valve, leave the water running, dry your hands, turn the water off using the paper towel (or napkin) and use it again on the door handle.
Is there a way we can idiot proof the rest rooms so you can't get out if you haven't washed your hands?
Well, that's the new cliche. 'sad but gross!' lol Many people especially some decent and revered businessmen do this. I mean, where is your habit? Have you not been taught in school or at home to do so? C'mon, geez, wash your frickin' hand! :p
I'm so glad someone else finally brought this out. I see this with women quite often, as I travel and it is most disgusting. Even my own grown child and grown step children, teaching them to do this when they were little was a priority, but it's like I never taught them anything. So, you can imagine how difficult it is, if they don't practice what they were taught, to teach my grandchildren. Especially the little boys who are just learning how to take care of those things.
You make great points as do most who have made their own comments...those of us who do the right thing really need to gang up on those who don't...
I've been accused of being an obsessive hand washer, but that's ok. And since I can't leave the bathroom without washing my hands, I find it really disgusting that others don't do the same. Especially at restaurants and at church!
thanks for this great article joel . you are my inspiration
Great article! Actually was thinking about this the other day, my first thought was the Seinfeld episode(which someon else mentioned).
With the Swine Flu going on, you would think people would take the time and wash their hands.
Actually heard someone say to his friend, aren't you going to wash your hands? This is after using the urinal. The friend says "No, I didn't touch anything" Yuck! I just shake my head in disbelief.
Well I guess there is a balance to be played between being clean and being obsessive about it. I agree with some of the points here, that being too clean can make us less immune to germs. Think also about people in third world countries who really do not have access to decent sanitary systems. I wouldn't label them as animals for not being able to clean up after themselves. I'm not saying we should not wash our hands after using the toilet if you do have access to clean water and soap. But I also don't want to adopt a 'cleaner than thou' attitude over those who don't have the benefit of such a system.
Well, far be it for me to disagree with the wisdom of the crowd, but...
Urine is 100% sterile (unless you have an infection). I don't pee on my hands. Really, if all I am doing is #1 at a urinal, nothing has happened in the rest room that would cause my hands to become any more dirty than they were before. (Obviously #2 is a different story and necessitates hand washing.)
Actually, that's not entirely true. If I touch the sink, the handle on the towel dispenser, the door handle, etc., I'm probably getting germs and bacteria on my hands from other people. I don't want that, and that's why I try to avoid using the sink, the towel dispenser, the door handle, etc.
I will do everything I can to avoid coming in physical contact with anything in a public restroom, and (assuming "#1" only) that includes not washing my hands if I don't have a sanitary way to do it. Modern bathrooms are getting better, with motion sensors on everything so you don't have to touch anything, but in non-modern bathrooms I feel much cleaner and more sanitary by just avoiding contact with things.
I agree, it's absolutely disgusting. WASH YOUR HANDS!
Hi joel could you please tell me how to promote my websit
...and then they touch the door knob. Then you touch the doorknob. Then you answer your phone. Did you know that cell phones are incredibly filthy? Remeber to wipe your cell phone with a wipe once a week.