OCD or Installation?
The other day, I walked into the nearest bathroom to my office, pushed open the stall door (I'll avoid discussing the problems associated with having to do one's business in the workplace) and was confronted by a toilet seat that was wrapped in so much paper, it looked like a Christmas present or possibly a paper throne. I couldn't see any hint of porcelain, no clue that the seat was black. To me, it looked like the most sublime feat of origami in history. Someone had crafted a toilet from toilet paper!
But, no, it seems that someone spent an hour or so making sure all surface areas were covered in toilet paper. What student, I ask you, has the time to devote that much energy to something he will only require for a few moments? Well, unless he had other less obvious plans, that is.
You know, it's impossible to catch an STD - wait, I think we call them STIs now - from a toilet seat. It can't happen, unless there is some sort of new super STI that I don't know about. And, even if you could catch something hideous from a toilet seat, would a few thin strips of toilet paper protect you? I think not.
I honestly believe that it one is that paranoid about catching an infectious disease from a toilet seat, a far better strategy would be to carry around cleaning supplies, like some of those disinfectant wipes. It would be obsessive-compulsive and a little nuts, but creating a paper throne is probably weirder.
Later, I thought that perhaps I had it all wrong. Maybe this was an installation? Now, I regret not photographing it.
6 comments:
Ew, just read in "Never Shower in a Thunderstorm" on Google books - office desks are worse than toilet seats.
i guess we're lucky in that in every public bathroom in the library there's a side bathroom that only staff have keys too. So, instead of hundreds of dirty ppl to contend with I only need to think of the 30 or so I work with.
Yes Ewww but hey we all see weird shit from time to time dont we...
My Mom is the queen of toilet-papering a toilet! Like you, I've never seen the sense in this practice.
When our daughter was a toddler, my Mom was horrified to learn that I didn't TP the toilet for my daughter. What a horrible mother I was!
I recently pointed out to my Mom that my kids lived and never contracted any kind of infection from sitting on a non-TP covered public toilet.
Perhaps they just find a cushion of toilet paper more comfortable than a hard toilet seat.
What kills me is that people think TP is some armour-like substance that blocks bacteria from touching you. TP is absorbent! Anyone who's actually learned anything about bacteria knows that the TP shield is utterly useless. /rant
Oh please start a rumor in the office that you can catch STI's from water splashing!
Tee hee hee.
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