Foolish Mortals by Tom Horacek for September 17, 2018

I was working at a place that had wash basins in the restrooms that were bowls that sat well up above the surface of the counter. The faucet was this artsy-fartsy abomination that stood vertically beside the bowl, with the outlet sort of vaguely pointed in the general direction of the bowl. It worked well enough when the flow was high enough, but when the water was turned on or off, it would drip onto the counter top. Since the bowl was above the surface, there was nowhere for the water to go.

I went in early one morning, and didn’t notice that the puddle was much larger than normal. In fact, the water was all the way to the front edge, and only surface tension was keeping it off the floor. I leaned against the edge of the counter, and broke the surface tension. I got a load of cold water right in the crotch. Luckily, I was there a good two hours before the rest of the office staff arrived, and I was wearing pants that dried very quickly. Embarrasement averted, but I have never leaned against a bathroom counter again.