Do we really need pink toilet paper?

There is such a thing as supporting a good cause. Financial support to fund research for the cure for cancer and emotional support for people affected by cancer - that's supporting a good cause.

Then there is jumping on a bandwagon for a good cause, and for brand advertising. Putting little pink ribbon logos on the shoes you manufacture and sell - and presumably give some of the profits from sales to research - would be an example of this.

And then there is planning and executing a guerilla attack on the bandwagon to raid the cause and make everyone on the bandwagon look like they are grabbing an advertising opportunity instead of supporting a good cause. Pink toilet paper is an appalling example of this. I saw it yesterday. There was lots of it. It was on sale in the local drug store. There was still lots of it.

Do we really need pink everything? Is it even healthy to use coloured toilet paper? What did they dye it with, and why would we want to come in close contact with that? Who thought this was a good idea? It should give the competition a boost anyway... maybe it was corporate sabotage... make all the product un-sellable so the competition gains the advantage. Devious.

Will a washroom be a tourist attraction?

The new Vancouver Convention Centre is quite the tourist attraction. It is built out over water with a fish habitat especially designed to attract fish, and it has a roof with "thousands of indigenous plants" planted on it. (What plants - beyond moss - are indigenous to roofs? Now that's a good question... looks like a lot of grasses... maybe they're from the planet of the roofs.) But I digress.

The more interesting question is... during a hot, dry August day, will using a washroom at the convention centre be a tourist attraction?

Yes, it rains in Vancouver. A lot. A really great deal. Many days of non-ending rain. But that's in the winter. In the summer it gets hot and dry and watering restrictions are put into effect. In August most of the grass is brown in Vancouver - it will come back to being green in the Fall when it starts raining again, but August is a brown month. So what will happen to the grasses and other "thousands of indigenous plants" on the roof of the Convention Centre? It is prized at being a green building, so they will not be using water to irrigate it from the municipal water supply, not directly anyway, they will be using "brown" or "black" water from the waste drains inside the building. So if you wash your hands in the washroom of the convention centre in August... the water that flows over your hands will then go up to the roof to water the plants!

Cool. Does this mean the washrooms will be a tourist attraction? I'm thinking I want to go just to pay a visit! I'm not sure what kind of conventions will be going on there in August, but I'm going to keep my eyes open to see if I want to go to one of them! Or at least go to visit the washroom when they're happening.

Where is the best handicapped washroom?

The best handicapped washroom I've ever been in is on one of the new BC Ferries Coastal ships!

Press large buttons to open the door. The door closes automatically behind you. There is a big button on the wall to lock and unlock the door. There is plenty of room for any maneuvering you want to do, and the toilet has lots of hand rails. The sink is totally accessible. Then press the unlock button and the open door button, and try to avoid exclaiming too loudly "This is the best washroom ever!" as you leave the room :)

I didn't really expect to be using my wheelchair onboard the ship, I can still get around with walking sticks - more slowly than most species of turtles, and not for long distances, but it's still easier to maneuver without the wheelchair. But as we were going through the payment booths at the ferry terminal the woman asked "Is that a wheelchair?" We had my manual chair in the backseat of the car because the trunk was full of our luggage. So my spouse said yes, and we got a special handicapped person sign to put on our dashboard and got to go to the front of the line! As we were boarding the ship all of the traffic was stopped and the person directing cars came and asked "What can we do for you?" So we asked to be near the elevator, and he said "Do you need extra room to get out?" So we said "Sure!" and were directed to tell the person who directed us to our spot to make sure we had room. So the person who directed us to our spot laid down traffic cones from where we parked at the front end of the boat back to the elevators so we would have room to get the wheelchair to the elevator.

At this point, we decided there was no way we could leave the chair in the backseat - it would just seem rude!

There's lots of room on this planet! So I have to say the new Coastal class ferries have a vast amount of space on them - for parking, for your butt while sitting in a lounge chair, for wheelchairs in the cafeteria area (every table is accessible), and in the washroom! It's like we've all come from Lilliput to visit!

And the handicapped washroom has got to be the best designed washroom ever!