Hand-washing obsession: A mystery revealed
I’ve always had a hard time understanding the US obsession with germs.
Ironically, my own 9-year old son might possibly be the biggest freak when it comes to having clean hands. I once caught him holding his weenie with toilet paper to avoid contact while he peed. I was like, “Dude, aren’t you being just a tiny bit too careful?” He pointed out we had ran out of soap in the bathroom.
The kids and I were in the Basque Country this summer visiting my family and decided to spend some time in Santurtzi during the town’s festivities. Port-a-potties over there do not come standard with hand sanitizer, but my kid didn’t notice until he finished his business (sans toilet paper this time) and almost had a heart-attack when he realized the closest sink was in some bar 10 minutes away. Of course I didn’t take him when he whined about washing his hands. Instead, I told him that, shocking as it may seem, all his fingers would still be there in the morning. This happened a few months back and they have yet to detach from his hand. You know, I can be right once in a while.
Today, I went to pick up my kids from the Wings Center after work. I left H-P in a bit of a hurry, so I run to the bathroom while they put on their coats and got their lunch-boxes from the cubby. As I was getting ready to wash my hands, I looked to the left and had an epiphany. The mystery to sanitizing obsession was finally revealed. Taped to the wall there was a poster with instructions for proper hand-washing, a whooping 12-step procedure with accompanying photos to illustrate the process.
Seriously. No wonder kids are obsessed. I’ve seen shorter networking manuals for Windows computers.
Thanks for passing by: ↓
- El Correo newspaper offers a free Basque language online course
- Land of the Ancient Basques, a 1968 article by National Geographic
8 thoughts on “Hand-washing obsession: A mystery revealed”
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You’ve got to be fucking kidding. Hand-washing instructions poster? Is it April’s Fools Day?
You’ve got to be fucking kidding. Hand-washing instructions poster? Is it April’s Fools Day?
It’s fool’s day alright. Everyday. I felt like peeing again after reading the poster, it took so long.
It’s fool’s day alright. Everyday. I felt like peeing again after reading the poster, it took so long.
The secret that physicians know is that you have to wash your hands before you take a leak. You handle a number of items during the day which are potentially contaminated with germs. You generally know, with much more specificity, where your penis has been.
The secret that physicians know is that you have to wash your hands before you take a leak. You handle a number of items during the day which are potentially contaminated with germs. You generally know, with much more specificity, where your penis has been.
HAHAHAHAHA! OMG, that’s awesome! And one would hope so.
HAHAHAHAHA! OMG, that’s awesome! And one would hope so.