Many of you will remember with fondness my recent post concerning restrooms which contained a urinal and a toilet in the same room with a single lockable door. Several of you were good enough to share with me your own ideas about correct etiquette for such a restroom, and I think it’s fair to say … Continue reading “Also Wrong: Gents’ restrooms with a urinal and a toilet in the same room, separated by a velvet curtain”

  Americans have something of a tradition about the place they choose to work. Regardless of their particular position in the company, they generally choose to work in places where they like the end product. Financiers in the software industry are gadget-junkies; delivery drivers in the pet food business have a house full of dogs. … Continue reading “Right: Salespeople who have actually heard of the product they are selling”

First, you must see a picture. Taking this picture, I need you to know, turned out to be one of the more difficult things I’ve had to do recently in the name of art. There was no lock on the door, and just as I had squeezed into the corner with my camera and was … Continue reading “Wrong: Gents’ restrooms with a urinal and a toilet in the same room”

America, as we all know, is a country which loves technology. When internet access came through the telephone, America had free local phone calls and a permanently connected population. Some years passed, the rest of the world got free local calls and so America got broadband. The entire country was alive with clever wires beaming … Continue reading “Wrong: Impossible banking transfers”

If I could put this one in bold, I would, as it’s possibly the most spectacular thing the Americans have ever done. To me, landing on the moon was always something humans had done ages ago, and barely even in colour. I knew my parents had lived through the event but they never implied that … Continue reading “Right: Landing on the moon”

One thing I can guarantee when I go abroad on holiday is that within a week or so my trousers will be around my ankles. This is neither because of my irresistability to the local ladies, nor because I only wash my trousers once a week, although the wife can testify that one of those … Continue reading “Wrong: Prices that don’t include tax”

Some bright supermarket proprietor, many moons ago, realised that it would be much easier for people to shop at his supermarket if they had some sort of hand-propelled vehicle in which to pile up their shopping. He doubtless came up with a few different ideas and eventually settled on some sort of neo-cuboidal wireframe device … Continue reading “Right: Supermarket trolleys with fixed rear wheels”