Things Adult Men Do That I Don't Understand...

[Spacescifi]

I have seen this happen several times. Adult men, sometimes older men as well, will use the public restroom, and then walk out with unwashed hands.

The latest and arguably most absurd example of late that I noticed was an older man today.

He comes in, washes his hand at the sink, uses the urinal, flushes, and walks straight out!

I was like thinking 'Okaay?'

Just what is the thought process going on?

 

I mean if you are in a war combat situation with bullets flying you have more immediate concerns to your health.... but his situation is CLEARLY not that.

Clean hands to do your business but not after?

He basically illustrates why I tend to use napkins to open bathroom doors, since I know not how many guys think walking out with unwashed hands is not a bad thing.

 

Maybe it is pure apathy. Surely a lack of consideration for people not them. Probably the same type of guy who leaves trash on the ground or leaves an utter mess on the table at the restaurant.

 

Anyone care to answer this or explain this.... unwelcome phenomenon?

Edited January 16, 2022 by Spacescifi

[kerbiloid]

(In Russian it's a rhyme, "slesar (plumber) - professor").

Q. Whose <...> is cleaner,  plumber's or professor's?

A. The plumber's.

Q. Why?

A. The plumber washes hands before touch it.  The professor washes hands after has touched it.

[StrandedonEarth]

Laziness? A weird order of ops, for sure.

Modern public washrooms around here try not to have doors, but have a 180 curved path at the entrance for privacy. No door handles to touch or clean! Also avoids having a door shoved open into your face.

[TheSaint]

7 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Modern public washrooms around here try not to have doors, but have a 180 curved path at the entrance for privacy. No door handles to touch or clean! Also avoids having a door shoved open into your face.

Mostly the latter, actually. It's also an ADA accommodation.

[kerbiloid]

It's to weaken a shockwave,

[Nuke]

people are just disgusting. 

[Meecrob]

Its pretty logical. You go around all day touching dirty things with your hands. Your junk stays in your pants (hopefully) and stays clean. Urine is sterile. Get off your high horse and don't jump to conclusions like:

On 1/16/2022 at 12:24 AM, Spacescifi said:

Maybe it is pure apathy. Surely a lack of consideration for people not them. Probably the same type of guy who leaves trash on the ground or leaves an utter mess on the table at the restaurant.

Have you ever eaten spicy food? Got hydraulic fluid on your hands? That stuff BURNS your junk!

TL;DR Just because you don't know why someone is doing something does not mean they are an inconsiderate jerkwad.

[kerbiloid]

It's a part of team building: cooperative physiology builds corporative ideology.

[Superfluous J]

I have been in restrooms where I was afraid to touch anything, including the sink. I left them without washing and made it a point to wash as soon as I possibly could.

But those were extremely bad bathrooms.

 

[tater]

I always wash my hands, and notice people who don't walking past in the mirror behind. There was actually a study on this from a few years ago, and it's not just men. The rate of properly washing hands (soap and some minimal wash time) was amazingly low, like 2% (from memory, maybe higher). Any washing at all was still a minority. Men and women.

A friend and I were talking about it, and he says he knows a guy who washes, THEN pees, then leaves as OP mentions. When asked why, the guy who does mechanical work (buys surplus electronics, etc from the national lab and resells them) says he gets solvents, etc on his hands, and wants them clean before he uses the bathroom—as anyone who has peeled green chile would suggest after that, as well —but my friend was still shocked he'd not do it after as well. The guy said he knows he's clean... OK. I mean he's not cooking or anything, but still.

[Spacescifi]

8 hours ago, tater said:

I always wash my hands, and notice people who don't walking past in the mirror behind. There was actually a study on this from a few years ago, and it's not just men. The rate of properly washing hands (soap and some minimal wash time) was amazingly low, like 2% (from memory, maybe higher). Any washing at all was still a minority. Men and women.

A friend and I were talking about it, and he says he knows a guy who washes, THEN pees, then leaves as OP mentions. When asked why, the guy who does mechanical work (buys surplus electronics, etc from the national lab and resells them) says he gets solvents, etc on his hands, and wants them clean before he uses the bathroom—as anyone who has peeled green chile would suggest after that, as well —but my friend was still shocked he'd not do it after as well. The guy said he knows he's clean... OK. I mean he's not cooking or anything, but still.

 

Huh?

 

I suppose either all these guys are OK with other guys doing the same or they just have cognitive dissonance about it (ignore the reality that some guys carry certain diseases nd have done things that and are in no way clean and will touch the door handle nonetheless without washing their hands).

 

Just because you are clean does not mean others are, but I suppose tgey use hand sanitizer for that.

 

Whatever, I find it gross but there are plenty who will vehemently defend their right not wash their hands after using the toilet.

People have fought for lesser things.... so this is America.

Let them be but protect yourself. All you can do is that.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Spacescifi

[tater]

Yeah, totally gross. I'm one who washes, and leaves without touching anything. If I have to open a door by pulling, I use left pinky, lol.

[Nuke]

also don't assume that human grossness is exclusive to men. 

[tater]

41 minutes ago, Nuke said:

also don't assume that human grossness is exclusive to men. 

As I said, There was a paper where they studied it, and the % was disgustingly low. 2% sticks in my head (both sexes), but that might be "adequate washing", "any" might be higher.

[kerbiloid]

5 hours ago, tater said:

and leaves without touching anything.

The doors are dirty at the floor thanks to the most cultured and decent people.

[Nuke]

15 hours ago, tater said:

I always wash my hands, and notice people who don't walking past in the mirror behind. There was actually a study on this from a few years ago, and it's not just men. The rate of properly washing hands (soap and some minimal wash time) was amazingly low, like 2% (from memory, maybe higher). Any washing at all was still a minority. Men and women.

A friend and I were talking about it, and he says he knows a guy who washes, THEN pees, then leaves as OP mentions. When asked why, the guy who does mechanical work (buys surplus electronics, etc from the national lab and resells them) says he gets solvents, etc on his hands, and wants them clean before he uses the bathroom—as anyone who has peeled green chile would suggest after that, as well —but my friend was still shocked he'd not do it after as well. The guy said he knows he's clean... OK. I mean he's not cooking or anything, but still.

household cleaners have a same effect. me and a certain girlfriend of mine were cleaning house. we finished early and had time to kill. nobody went to the bathroom in this case, but needless to say we both regretted the aftermath.

pine sol, not even once. i should put that on the adulting advice thead. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Nuke

[ColdJ]

@Spacescifi

Ok based on the original post you put, there is an assumption that we need to get rid of. Not all adult men are the same or do the same things. The world is made up of individuals, some of those are bad or atleast unthinking in their actions. Based on the fact that you observed the bad behaviour I am going to assume you are male. You don't do what that man did and again I will assume that (like me) find it disgusting behaviour. Do you really think that as you grow older you will one day hit an age where you suddenly start doing what that man did just because you are older? I have seen stuff left in public toilets that will make want to vomit, and I have never understood why some people will do such things.

So simply. Lumping people together based on their physical attributes is a bad way to approach things. There is a reason why we have the expression "Don't judge a book by it's cover" If you have to judge people, judge the individual by how they act and treat others, never by gender, age, race, orientation etc.

[kerbiloid]

Also a problem are the old-style flywheels on the water crane which you need to grab and rotate.

Instead of them, there are modern handles which you can operate by wrist or elbow,

And also the modern on-wall elbow buttons to flush the toilet itself.

(Used a decade before the covid hype.)

Like this one two (small and large flush).

Spoiler

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by kerbiloid

[Spacescifi]

19 hours ago, ColdJ said:

@Spacescifi

Ok based on the original post you put, there is an assumption that we need to get rid of. Not all adult men are the same or do the same things. The world is made up of individuals, some of those are bad or atleast unthinking in their actions. Based on the fact that you observed the bad behaviour I am going to assume you are male. You don't do what that man did and again I will assume that (like me) find it disgusting behaviour. Do you really think that as you grow older you will one day hit an age where you suddenly start doing what that man did just because you are older? I have seen stuff left in public toilets that will make want to vomit, and I have never understood why some people will do such things.

So simply. Lumping people together based on their physical attributes is a bad way to approach things. There is a reason why we have the expression "Don't judge a book by it's cover" If you have to judge people, judge the individual by how they act and treat others, never by gender, age, race, orientation etc.

 

Actually I was both nonplussed and surprised the old guy did not wash his hands.

If anyone should know better it would be someone with experience.

 

I expect young folks to screw up... a lot until they figure stuff out.

 

 

[Superfluous J]

You don't get experience if nothing is affected by your actions.

And for most people it needs to be blunt. Touch a stove, get burned. next time check the stove before touching it.

Don't wash your hands after going to the bathroom... nothing really happens to you. You might get sick tomorrow but there's no connection.

[LordFerret]

Male or female, one should wash before and after.  That's experience, and good parenting.

[kerbiloid]

+1
After coming to the workplace and handshaking each one's sweaty palm, before the toilet
and after the toilet, before handshaking each one's sweaty palm in the corridor back to the workplace.

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

You guys are some seriously OCD people who've never lived outdoors much, aren't you?

(grin)

I'll agree that washing your hands is good practice - but, lets be real.  If you walk into a bathroom, don't touch anything but yourself and don't pee on yourself... just how necessary is washing before and after?  Not much.  *Note, this applies to standing and peeing, not cleaning up after numero dos.  Always wash hands after that, even when in the desert.

What you need to wash from is other people's snotty hands on the doorknobs / handles and any other surfaces you might touch.  That's a city-dweller thing.  

You should always wash hands before preparing food and eating.  Good practice.

But anyone who's spent more than a few hours out of doors and without an easily accessible clean water source can tell you, obsessively washing your hands is not really a requirement... it's a nice to have.

Caveat: I am a habitual hand washer, and like Tater use the 'open the door with a pinky / back of the hand' in public.

[Spacescifi]

28 minutes ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

You guys are some seriously OCD people who've never lived outdoors much, aren't you?

(grin)

I'll agree that washing your hands is good practice - but, lets be real.  If you walk into a bathroom, don't touch anything but yourself and don't pee on yourself... just how necessary is washing before and after?  Not much.  *Note, this applies to standing and peeing, not cleaning up after numero dos.  Always wash hands after that, even when in the desert.

What you need to wash from is other people's snotty hands on the doorknobs / handles and any other surfaces you might touch.  That's a city-dweller thing.  

You should always wash hands before preparing food and eating.  Good practice.

But anyone who's spent more than a few hours out of doors and without an easily accessible clean water source can tell you, obsessively washing your hands is not really a requirement... it's a nice to have.

Caveat: I am a habitual hand washer, and like Tater use the 'open the door with a pinky / back of the hand' in public.

 

I agree when living is rough.

 

When no bathroom is available and no soap either vinegar with water is a worthy substitute. Hot water if you reallly want to kill bad stuff to oblivion. But even cold water and vinegar is better than nothing at all.

Water at the very least if nothing else is the most basic cleanser known

Vinegar/water mix is good enough to disinfect glass bottles. Only takes minutes.

 

But you probably know that already don't ya?

Edited January 31, 2022 by Spacescifi

[kerbiloid]

(The old ethnic joke. The nations are replaced with nicknames.)

Two men, of nations A and F, have done their deeds in the restroom, and then come to the wash basin.

The A starts diligently washing his hands with soap.

The F starts diligently adjusting his tie at the mirror.

A (ironically): As children, we have been taught to wash the hands after the toilet.

F (calmly): As children, we have been taught to not (liquid) on the hands.

Edited February 1, 2022 by kerbiloid