• Industrial Automation Engineer (unregistered)

    Or Barry used the men's bathroom, perhaps?

  • (nodebb) in reply to Industrial Automation Engineer

    Did you just assume Barlene "Barry" Barrington's gender?? I think you need to see HR.

  • (nodebb) in reply to DocMonster

    Barry is noted by the article itself as using he/him/his pronouns, so most likely using the men's room, yes.

  • Maia Everett (github) in reply to DocMonster

    Let's not.

  • Frank (unregistered)

    Why wouldn't he use cold water? Over here, we don't even have heated water in our restrooms!

  • (nodebb) in reply to Frank

    Tough crowd D:

    I think it plenty of places that would be some sort of health violation

  • Hanzito (unregistered)

    There's of course the distinct possibility this has been fancied up too much and Ellen was in reality a man, who therefor knew that Barry used the same bathroom (or vice versa, that Barry was a gal).

  • Brian Boorman (google)

    The most obvious response to all the comments so far is that there is a single gender neutral shared bathroom next to the server room.

  • Hal (unregistered) in reply to Hanzito

    Other - probably more like explanation. Its a relatively small office spaced for IT attached to the datacenter and they have single occupant unisex bathroom.

    I am going to give Barry some credit and lend some credence to the cold water theory as well. I am in the habit of just washing with soap and cold water. I'll admit its probably not as sanitary as using hot water would be. However at home I have central hot water heater not one of those under sink deals. I would have to stand around for several minutes waiting for the hot water to get there (bathroom is probably the longest run in house from the water heater. This is old farm house bathroom is an addition and indoor plumbing is a retrofit). I don't even both with the hot tap for just hand-washing because it would only be a waste of water and energy as I'll be done hand-washing before the first warm water gets there.

    So if the sink has separate hot cold valves I just instinctively reach for the cold.

  • Pag (unregistered)

    Nice one. Now your bathroom has an interruptible power supply and you can look forward to washing your hands with cold water in the dark.

  • Barry Margolin (github)

    Cold water is just as effective as hot water for washing hands.

    https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317712#Results-call-for-FDA-policy-change

  • (nodebb)

    I had a female coworker who according to other female coworkers, did not wash her hands at all, even after #2. Not kidding.

  • SwineOne (unregistered)

    The real WTF is that this is posted under CodeSOD.

  • Darren (unregistered)

    I once worked with a chap who would wash one hand and then go to the other bathrooms on the floor to wash the other.

  • Conradus (unregistered) in reply to Industrial Automation Engineer

    "Or Barry used the men's bathroom, perhaps?"

    The story could have been told better; obviously both bathrooms were wired to same circuit and thus ran off the UPS until the wiring was fixed, and they certainly would have had the same instant-on water heater arrangement. So one could indeed conclude that when Barry used the bathroom, he didn't use hot water at the sink. Draw your own conclusions.

  • Loren Pechtel (unregistered)

    Second the cold-water bit. Most bathrooms will not deliver warm water quickly, I generally don't bother when it's separate taps.

  • IPGuru (unregistered)

    there is an old joke about various nationalities using the bathroom with the punchline "In Britain we are taught not to piss on our hands"

  • barry (unregistered)

    half a second to wet your hands, 5 seconds to rinse them. maybe ellen leaves the sink on and barry just isn't a water waster

  • (nodebb)

    I remember working in building with groups doing Engineering development. There were weird problems with computers. Discovered that someone had added an Arc Welder to the circuit!

  • Worf (unregistered)

    Lots of options.

    One, the men's bathroom has its OWN water heater wired properly to the mains and not the UPS, thus leaving the women's bathroom having their own water heater which was miswired. It's not an unusual thing for each room to have its own hot water heater. It's common in Europe and warmer parts of the world to have a small hot water heater rather than a big giant tank.

    Two, yes, wash with cold water. It's summer, I don't use hot water to wash my hands - I like it nice and cool. I've had many complaints from people in my family because I wash the dishes in cold water during the summer so when they wash their hands, they freeze.

    No need to assume any sort of malfeasance on anyone, other than the electrician who wired the women's hot water heater to the UPS.

  • Anonymous mole (unregistered)
    Comment held for moderation.
  • Anonymous mole (unregistered) in reply to IPGuru

    @IPGuru: That joke is also common between different branches of the US military.

    I've seen it played out for real in a toilet used by guys from the US Air Force and the US Army.

    Army guy takes a leak, the goes to the sink to wash his hands.

    Air Force guy takes a leak, then walks past the sink to leave the toilet.

    The Army guy calls out "In the Army they teach us to wash our hands after using the toilet."

    The Air Force guy answered back "In the Air Force, they teach us not to piss on our hands."

    Both had a laugh.

  • Greg (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous mole

    Heard it with employees from IBM, Microsoft and Apple:

    • IBM guy washes his hands and uses a huge number of paper towels to dry them off saying "at IBM, we're thorough"
    • Microsoft guy washes his hands and uses way less paper towels saying "at Microsoft, we're efficient"
    • Apple guy doesn't wash his hands saying "at aApple we don't pee on our hands"
  • ZZartin (unregistered) in reply to Barry Margolin

    Cold water is just as effective as hot water for washing hands.

    Unless you're washing your hands with scalding hot peel your skin off water it doesn't matter.

  • maribert (unregistered)
    Comment held for moderation.
  • maribert (unregistered) in reply to Greg
    Comment held for moderation.
  • WTFGuy (unregistered)

    At one time [mumble] years ago I ran a small IT shop in a multi-story office building which had several other tenants on our floor. All the tenants shared a pair of common bathrooms near the elevator lobby on each floor.

    For a while one other office was the re-election campaign headquarters of a sitting US Senator. I can say from direct personal experience that Senator Schmutz doesn't wash his hands after #1 or #2. Didn't get my vote, but that was hardly the most important reason to vote for the other guy.

    He's since moved on from the Senate to being a lobbyist and toady. But I'm pretty sure he still hasn't learned to wash his hands. Despite the extra sleaze he now stuffs them into.

  • MIKE (unregistered)
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  • (nodebb)

    Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is a pattern.

    No, I think you'll find that three times is enemy action.

  • Danish (unregistered)
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  • learnbylearning (unregistered)
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  • learnbylearning (unregistered)
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  • learnbylearning (unregistered)
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  • Nils H (unregistered)
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  • Invoice_345575 (unregistered) in reply to Worf

    Worf wrote: Two, yes, wash with cold water. It's summer, I don't use hot water to wash my hands - I like it nice and cool. I've had many complaints from people in my family because I wash the dishes in cold water during the summer so when they wash their hands, they freeze.

    They don't complain about greasy dishes?

    https://www.sunrise-cleaning.com/blog/cleaning-tips/hot-water-superior-comes-cleaning/

  • Amy (unregistered)

    I.... it's normal to use hot water for washing your hands?

  • shivam (unregistered)
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  • aakash (unregistered)
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  • aakash (unregistered)
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