Water, Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop for Washing

Water. We all need it. For all sorts of things. We drink it, bathe in it, wash with it, cook with it. Here in Nairobi we have a shortage. Too many dry rainy seasons. We all need it, and really feel the pinch when its lacking.

I'm quite accustomed now to drinking bottled water. Pretentious? In many contexts, yes, but not here in Kenya. Or in Romania. Or El Salvador. I've lived many places where its simply not safe to drink from the tap. So when I go home it seems really strange to me to do so. (I get over it quickly.)

One beef we had in Romania was that when you used the public restrooms in the malls, there was no hot water for hand washing. Just cold. I hated it. But last week I discovered that things can be--and in some places are--worse.

Heathrow airport. Very nice place. Plenty of shopping, and, unlike some airports, plenty of seating. Very nice. However. The restrooms. Like Romanian shopping malls, they only have one temperature of water. Unlike Romania, however, the temperature of the water in the London Heathrow taps is hot. Really. They have warning signs over every sink: Warning: water extremely hot!

Now I ask you, how are you supposed to wash your hands in uber hot water? It can't be done. You can just moisten your hands by placing them under the tap for a milisecond, before the water becomes unbearable. Soap? Sure, if you're willing to wipe it off with a towel. Oh wait! No towels at Heathrow. Just air dryers. (On a side note--I HATE air dryers, but the ones at Heathrow are actually super powerful and do, in fact, dry the hands. But they don't remove soap.) All these years, I thought that Romania was seriously dumb and cheap for not providing hot water in their mall restrooms, when in reality it was the progressive Brits that miss the point entirely. At least you CAN wash in cold water.

Another issue with the Brits: what the heck is the point of two faucets in a bathroom sink? Picture me trying to remove my mascara: Quickly wet the fingers in the hot water, and then move quickly to the cold to cool off the fingers before rubbing the eyelashes. Repeat over and over again until fingers turn blue or blister, or mascara is removed. Wash the face? Not in the usual manner, sister!

Cart 'em Off

Having lived in five different countries, and visited several more, I feel I am at least a little qualified to discuss certain aspects of culture and/or products that span the globe. One of these global products is the shopping cart. Being an American, I perhaps suffer from the arrogance of many of my countrymen in thinking that our products are better than others'. Oftentimes this is simply not true; we simply prefer what we are used to. However, on the subject of the shopping cart, I truly believe that America has the better product, and I truly cannot understand why the rest of the world doesn't follow. Actually, some of the rest of the world has; perhaps the shopping carts to which I refer began elsewhere. The trouble is, much of the world is deprived of this truly underappreciated product.

The key to the betterness of the shopping cart currently in use in America is wheels. In America, shopping carts have four wheels, just like everywhere else in the world. All four wheels rotate. However, in the American version, only TWO of the wheels turn--just like in automobiles. In cars, the front wheels are used for steering--they turn right and left--while the back wheels follow. Our shopping carts follow this same principle. And they are easy to steer for just that reason.

I first encountered a different type of shopping cart in London, and have since found them in Romania, Kenya, France, and Sri Lanka. I'm sure they exist in other countries. This type of shopping cart has FOUR wheels for steering. All of them turn right and left. and this is extremely annoying. I suppose the inventors of this type of cart figured that this style would make for tighter turns. I'm sure this can be achieved--in theory. However, in America, if I have trouble with a tight turn, I simply pick up the back end of the cart and make the turn. No matter how full my cart has been, this has never been difficult. Making tight turns--or any turn, for that matter--with the 'other' type of cart is nearly impossible, however. Instead, all turns are inevitably wide. Its just the way they are built.

You can tell which type of cart a country uses without actually trying them out. You just have to watch other shoppers. If they are pushing American style carts, they are going straight down the aisle. The 'other' type? They'll be going diagonally. Every time. This phenomenon is even more pronounced outside, when shooppers are navigating the slopes into the parking lot. They cannot be pushed straight.

I thought that perhaps this was just my American arrogance showing through. But no. I spoke to some friends who are not American, and do not live in America, but have visited America. To a man (ok, woman), they all preferred the American style.

Rise up, shoppers of the world! Let's demand steerable, controllable shopping carts. Things are already grim enough in the stores these days.