Bathroom Humor

It occurred to me the other day as I was walking out of the bathroom at the Fours that there have been some serious upgrades to the standard public restroom in the last five years...and yet I am still not convinced that these changes have made it any less probable that I'll catch something communicable in these places. They have the auto-flush toilet, the auto-soap dispenser, the auto-sink...some places even have the auto-toilet paperthingy coverer (O'Hare has these...they're very impressive). What I don't understand is that whilst many places utilize these new conveniences, 99% of these locales still utilize a "pull" door in order to leave the restroom. So you can go through the whole "bathroom experience" whilst not actually touching anything, but then they still expect you to put your hand on the door on the way out! I ALWAYS wash my hands, but there are plenty of men who do not. I've seen co-workers come out of the stall and walk right out the door, with nary a thought of washing their hands (this is when I worked in an office, mind you). And to worsen the matter, some public restrooms still have actual door knobs on their doors...so that you really work the grime and bacteria of the non-washers directly into your freshly washed hands (Friday the 13th was scary when I was 10....The WeatherLane's bathroom door knobs are what keep me awake at night at 31). Please, for my sake, change all bathroom doors so that they are push instead of pull (or sliding, like in Star Trek)....or at least remove the door knobs and make the door a swinger. I've been reduced to using my shirt (or a paper towel) to leave most restrooms, and I look like such a wuss.

On that note: Has anyone ever gone to use one of those auto-sinks, and felt as foolish as I have when it doesn't turn on, and then you have to resort to doing the "sink dance"?? You sit there for a few seconds, waving your hands like a moron, and yet the sink doesn't turn on. And then you have to switch to another sink, and it does the same thing?? Meanwhile, people are coming and going, not having a problem, and you suddenly look like the "bathroom leper". Yes, that's always me.