About five years ago (or nine, or twelve, something like that), the Census Bureau discovered that the running water in their post WWII building was laced with asbestos. Or something. So, they immediately posted large signs in all the bathrooms with a message akin to Don't Drink The Water. No apparent message whatsoever was given to the Census employees that had been drinking said water for however many years (which constitutes a statistically significant proportion of said employees), but that's the besides the point.
The point is, there are now in every hallway two or three water dispensers for human consumption. I had first been exposed to these aquatic contraptions during my stint in Taiwan. It speaks for cultural differences that the Taiwanese water dispensers were red and blue: Scalding Hot and Somewhat Cool. Asians believe cold water is very bad for your system. Here, the two dispensers are white and blue: Cold and Icy Cold. Do you really need two?
Anyway, my purpose in posting today is a diatribe against the impossible logistical placement of said water dispensers. Observe. They are placed at such a distance from the ground that makes it completely and utterly awkward to actually fill up your water bottle/coffee mug/bowl/jug/whatever. Why are they so low? Were they built to accomodate the potential midget, as the government is vehemently affirmatively actioned? (What is this, a center for ants? How are they supposed to learn to read if they can't even fit inside the building?) Even a toddler could reach up to a water dispenser at 'normal' human height. And I really haven't seen any toddling around the Census Bureau...
The easiest method is to simply bend over, but then you're stuck hunched over while you wait for your whatever to fill, and maybe I'm just getting old, but the exact angle of hunch makes my lower back hurt. Plus, nine times out of ten, you end up flashing someone, and I was taught at an early age that sticking your butt out in public is a social faux pas. At least in some cultures. I've tried squatting, crouching, hunkering, but, as the sound of those words may suggest, none of those methods are an improvement in any way. Plus I got mocked once for squatting. As I well deserved, I suppose; squatting in public is so uncouth...
...so in a fit of indignation, I looked up the water bottle supplier to find some contact information to lodge my complaint. It appears, however, that the bulk of Avanti's dispensers do, in fact, stand at a comfortable height from the ground. (except model B-5, towards the bottom. Not quite sure what exactly type of a water dispenser model they're going for... straight out the mouth of the water jug?) I guess apparently the federal government is still sadly innovatively stunted when it comes to upgrading its drinking systems. Right up there with our computer systems, just barely recently upgraded to Microsoft Windows XP...
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2 comments:
The government should do what my former office did: get everyone addicted to diet coke. (seriously...they can't live without it) It can be placed on the middle shelf in the fridge, thus accommodating everyone.
When I hunch in the gym I immediately get slapped for not standing up straight. What kind of gym do YOU go to? I need to just perfect the Asian squat. It's incredibly versatile.
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