house of handwash

Inspired by Rob, I was thinking yesterday about some new-fangled paper towel dispensers. We don't have them here at work, but I've seen them around - they're at our training place, and they've got them at the climbing gym in Ballard. They're hands-free, you know, like the hands-free toilets and the hands-free sinks (which both work so well), but the motion sensor isn't underneath (where your hands go), it's in front. And the motion sensor doesn't reach far enough that you can just stand in front of it to make the paper towels come out - you need to wave your hand in front of it.

So there you are, waving at the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom. And then the sheet that comes out is so tiny that you need to keep waving at it until another sheet comes out. I tell you, there's not much more degrading than having to stand in the bathroom and wave at an inanimate object.

And come on, is there really a need for hands-free paper towel dispensing? By this time, it is assumed your hands are clean, right? I can understand the flushing and the sinks, but paper towels? This is going too far.