I recall reading an article years ago in Awake's "Watching the World" captioned "Holy Germs" in which they talked about the discovery of dangerous pathogens in the water used for religious ceremonies. I recently discovered such disease-causing pathogens may actually co-habit freely even in the highly antiseptic halls of medical facilities too!
Where could the source be? The loo of course!
To have successfully carried out this “investigation”, you have to take into consideration the fact that one of my personal quirks makes me a very poor fan of "watering the great outdoors". And so after a particularly grueling equipment installation in a foremost medical facility located somewhere in the South-West I decided to use the public porcelain throne to do a number 2.
This is the sight that met my eyes as dutifully captured by Agent Samsung E250:
To cut a long story short and bring this case to a persuasive conclusion, I just pointed Little Man in the right direction, did my do (no, I didn't miss the target) and scurried away quickly before samonella typhi would jump on me!
The brown stains on the wall under the cistern are actually signs of bad masonry work, the cistern itself is broken and the bowl was BLACK! And yes, the Plimsoll line on the wall close to the floor does show the level of water on the ground.
When you take into account the litres of sanitation products the hospital uses for other health purposes, it’s a shame the toilets have to be in such bad shape in a particular department of the hospital that raises most of its income and where even tap heads are religiously wiped clean with vats of antiseptic. Washed off all the germs on your hand? Here have some more from the toilet!
Apart from the loo-induced trauma, there was one slightly amusing side to the gist. You need to see the way the boss looked at me when he saw me emerging from Armageddon and gave me a very wide berth like I had just caught scabies or something!
What’s the possible outcome of this case? After the initial “clues” it wasn't an entirely bad experience though. At the end of the day I wasn’t feeling pressed anymore, I had material for this post and I’d gotten a lecture about how stress-free outdoor watering can be - and healthy too!
CASE CLOSED.
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