Yoni in Israel

Contains: Torah, humor, insight, and cucumbers

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Bathroom Mysteries

Did you ever stop to wonder about the many mysteries that inhabit the seemingly sterile space we call the bathroom? I know I do. There are many questions that beg attention. For example:

  • Pink toilet paper. Now, what I want to know is, who spends time making pink toilet paper? What's wrong with white? And if it has to be colored, why pink?
  • Loofas. Who made up the word "loofa"? It's such a funny word. Loofa. Loofa. Loofa. Say it aloud a few times. Loofa. Loofa. Is it a dyslexic man who is aloof in the shower? Loofa. Loofa. Sounds like a Roald Dahl word. Loofa.
  • How are there so many types of toilet flushers? In America, there is just a lever, usually on the right side of the toilet. Here, you don't know what to expect: pull this, push that, one lever, two levers,-- it's like that game "Bop It!" with flushers. Hmm. Maybe I'll call it "Flush it!"
  • Shampoo bottles. This is a big one. First of all, "Questions? Comments? Call this number"... who has questions, or comments, about the shampoo? This always gets me. Maybe the question is about the ingredients. Ever read the back of a shampoo bottle? They sound like deadly toxins from a science experiment, definitely things you don't want to get accidentally in your eyes. Finally, shampoo directions? Who needs directions on a shampoo bottle? Let me simplify it: put the shampoo in your wet hair, lather, and rinse. There, it doesn't need a full paragraph. Although, if you are the type of person who needs directions, maybe the "Questions? Comments?" number is for you.
  • Bathroom scented things. Now, most bathrooms have flower scents, or some kind of citrus fruit. Now, I'm the kind of guy who doesn't really care about bathroom scents, but I wondered if an appropriate scent was... French Vanilla. Now, the fruits I can kinda understand, but French Vanilla-- is it a coffeehouse or a bathroom? Because the Beit Midrash toilet is right next to the Pinat Cafe (lit. "Coffee Corner"), so I suspect there may have been a mixup.
  • Why is my shower curtain too short? Just out of curiosity, shouldn't it reach, at least, the floor?
  • Squeegees. My bathroom at home was equipped with many devices, but a squeegee definitely wasn't one of them. But in Israel, it's part and parcel for everywhere that a shower might be. This alone isn't really a mystery, as (due to the fact that the shower floor is one with the rest of the bathroom) water gets everywhere during a shower. No, my question, rather, is this: where is the squeegee for our room? It was clearly marked "squeegee for room 8," yet it seems to have disappeared. Who took it? What was his motive? Did he have an accomplice?
  • How is it that most deoderants make a smell?

Yes, these are the things I think about.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is readily apparent you have entirely too much free time...Tina

10:02 AM  
Blogger Benjamin E. said...

Though I must admit,the French Vanilla question is a particularly puzzling one...

As for the shampoo, I think the phone number is to help along those people who don't even know what things like methylchloroisothiazolinone are.

12:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why, isn't it common knowledge that methylchloroisothiazolinone is a heterocyclic compound and is also classified as such. It is used as a preservative and is also known as 5-Chloro-2Methyl-4Isothiazolin-3-one and 4-Isothiazolin-3-one, 5Chloro-2-methyl. Benjamin, you, the science wiz--it's almost embarrassing you would suggest everyone doesn't know this. Did you know that cucumbers are more than 95% water?? Tina

2:07 PM  

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