Rant: Filthy Bathrooms in Pretty Places

Traveling forces you to experience firsthand just how dumb many people are. At home you hang out with intelligent people, unless of course you are dumb yourself and so are all your friends. But mine are a smart bunch, thus I am sheltered from how shallow the gene pool is that's out there. So many people are affluent enough for air travel, yet too dumb to use the modern washroom equipment now found in most airports.

Since I must spend about ten minutes in a public restroom after eating to brush, floss and clean my Invisalign braces, I witness the struggle of many women trying to simply wash their hands. Motion detector sinks seem to stymie the most people: By my own rough estimate, 90% of users cannot figure out how to turn the water on in a sink, or how to activate the soap and paper towel dispensers. Even worse, the same number of users cannot figure out how to flush those new toilets that are supposed to flush themselves but often don't, so you have to push a tiny button hidden discreetly on the toilet.

Consequently, many women's restrooms in newer restaurants and airports are horrendously filthy, with stall after stall of unflushed, clogged toilets and floors littered with wet toilet paper used as an alternative by the women who couldn't figure out how to free the paper towels. It's ironic that the very affluent West Palm Beach Airport, with its high-end shops and trendy cafes, was the worst I have ever seen, making the bathrooms throughout Haiti, a "hellhole" country you hear about but rarely visit, appear much more sanitary. And they are often just holes in the ground!

Something must be done to remedy this situation before the plague makes a comeback in America. How about a college course explaining these modern bathroom fixtures? After all, many schools now offer courses about Lady Gaga's music, and that doesn't help you live your life one bit better, unless you are a deejay.