Air Supply
The hand dryer -- that device you find in public washrooms that blows hot air over you in a powerful but usually unsuccessful bid to dry your hands -- always comes last when people are asked what hand-drying method they prefer. Indeed, it's rare you'll find a dryer whose standard instructions -- "shake off excessive moisture, put hands in front of air jet and rub together" -- haven't been defaced by some wag with a further suggestion along the lines of: "Then wipe hands on clothing." Even the people who make them aren't exactly passionate about them. John Curzon, manager of British hand-dryer manufacturer Airdri Ltd., admits it isn't his first choice: "The truth of the matter is that given the choice, I would always want to dry my hands with a lovely warm white cotton towel."
This image problem may, possibly, be about to change. So far the only notable innovation since its invention in Chicago in 1948 by one George S. Clemens has been the introduction in the mid-1980s of a hands-free hand dryer, so to speak, which allows you to operate the machine without actually touching it. But now, in an obscure mall in east Jakarta, I'm here to tell you that I've found the Holy Grail of hand dryers: the Mitsubishi Jet Towel.
I spotted it when I was gorging in a food court -- a plastic-cased, cream-colored, wall-mounted device that looked like an attractive waste-disposal unit or, possibly, a mailbox. The only clue that it was actually a hand dryer was its proximity to the wash basins. Using it was like a glimpse of hand-drying heaven. Instead of sticking your hands below a single air jet, you put them inside a sort of trough inside the unit, between two jets that start blowing automatically onto both sides of your hands. Instead of searing blasts of hot air that shrivel the skin and give your hands a weird burning sensation, the Jet Towel envelops them in a strong but muted cushion of air, circulating within the trough. Instead of rubbing your hands together vigorously in the vain hope of dislodging the damp, you just move the hands up and down slowly. Instead of the water dripping off your hands onto the floor, it falls to the bottom of the trough and down a pipe into the base of the unit. Instead of the usual half-minute or so of frantic hand-rubbing, followed by some pant-wiping, pull out your hands after a few seconds and they're dry. Really.
I don't usually get overly excited about gadgets but this one truly impressed me, and I kept running my hands under a tap just so I could try it again. The only downside I can think of is for those of you who like to point hand-drying nozzles upward to dry your face or hair. Or to dry out that awkward basin splash on your pants. I just don't see that happening with the Jet Towel unless you're thin- and flat-headed, or really good at yoga.
The other bad news is that Mitsubishi is a bit shy about trumpeting its success. I couldn't get anyone to talk to me about the Jet Towel unless I actually went to Japan to meet them. And while the Jet Towel has been spotted in hotels and malls in Asia outside Japan for some time, they aren't exactly ubiquitous. The good news, though, is that a small Seattle company, Pacarc Inc., reckons the product deserves a wider audience and this month is starting to distribute it in the U.S. Chief Executive Officer James Allard, who studied in Japan in the 1990s, says he has trial runs going in hospitals, universities and companies, and has been monitoring reactions in a Seattle restaurant: "Sometimes we would sit at the restaurant and we watched customers come out with smiles on their faces, and they take their friends back to show them." To show them the Jet Towel, presumably.
Hands that are actually dry are a big plus. But the Jet Towel has knock-on effects. If it doesn't take people nearly a minute to dry their hands, as it does under traditional dryers (43 seconds to achieve 95% dryness, according to a 1998 study by the University of Westminster, London, and 37 seconds according to my own exhaustive research, compared with around six seconds for the Jet Towel), this could revolutionize washroom habits. People may no longer feel hand-washing is overrated if they know they can get dry afterward. And, most importantly, gone are those awkward hand-drying moments like the Hand Dryer Huddle, where the person drying his hands feels he should cut the process short, while those waiting shake their hands dramatically to signal they need some air time.
Of course, the Jet Towel has its detractors. Mr. Curzon acknowledges its innovative strengths but points out that such a device wouldn't work well in your average British restroom. Vandalism, he says, requires that most hand dryers in countries such as the U.K. be made of more robust materials than the Jet Towel, and not feature removable parts. "The Mitsubishi product would be fine in Asia because you wouldn't expect anybody to be beating it up, but put that in a school in the U.K. and come back and see it in the afternoon and you'll get a totally different story." Kids. (Well, British kids.)
My suspicion is that opposition to hand dryers will melt away once people try the Jet Towel. If it does, comedians the world over are going to have to come up with fresh graffiti ideas. My candidate: "Do not try to dry face unless head is flat and less than 10 centimeters wide."
“实至名归”的干手机
今天我们的话题是干手机。
干手机安装在公共卫生间等场所，能够吹出强劲的热风，但实际上烘干效果往往并不尽人意。因此，当人们被问及喜欢哪种干手方式时，使用干手机往往是最后的选择。干手机的标准使用说明往往是这样说的：先抖掉一部分水分，然后把手放到出风口下面并相互揉搓，而一些幽默的人往往会在这后面加上一句：然后再用布把手擦干。
就连干手机制造商对干手机的评价都不高。英国干手机制造商Airdri Ltd.的经理约翰?柯曾(John Curzon)承认，干手机并不是他弄干双手的最佳选择。他说，实际上，如果可以选择的话，他本人更喜欢用一条暖融融的棉质白毛巾把双手擦干。
不过，干手机有望扭转其在人们心目中的不佳形象。1948年干手机问世以来，唯一显著的创新是20世纪80年代中期发明了免触摸式干手机。换句话说，无须用手触摸开关，干手机也能自行运转。如今，我在雅加达东部一个偏僻的超市里面却发现了一个宝贝──三菱公司(Mitsubishi)出品的Jet Towel干手机。
我在餐厅就餐的时候发现了Jet Towel──一种塑料外壳包装的乳白色壁挂式设备，看上去像个样子可爱的垃圾桶，或者邮箱。能让人看出它是个干手机的唯一线索是它摆放在洗手池的旁边。用起来的感觉简直是太惬意了。
与普通干手机需要把手放在单个出风口下面不同的是，使用Jet Towel需要把手放在它的沟槽里面，由两个出风口自动向你的手背和手心吹风。普通干手机吹出的风灼热烫手、让你的手变得干巴巴的，而且会给你以灼伤的怪异感觉，而Jet Towel则不然，它吹出的风虽然强劲，但经过缓冲处理，在沟槽中循环柔和流动。使用普通干手机时，你会使劲揉搓双手、希望这样能掸去水分，尽管这样做是徒劳的。在使用Jet Towel时，只要把双手上下缓慢移动即可。普通干手机把手上的水直接吹到地面上，而Jet Towel把水吹到沟槽的底部，通过一个管道输往设备的底座。使用普通干手机，你要把手揉搓半分钟左右，然后还要在裤子上蹭一蹭，而使用Jet Towel几秒钟后你的手就彻底地干了。确实是这样。
我通常不会为一件设备感到大惊小怪，但Jet Towel确实深得我的喜爱，以至于我跑到水龙头那里再次把手沾湿，为的就是再体验一下使用它的感觉。我能想起来的唯一不尽人意之处便是：那些喜欢把脸或头发伸到出风口下面吹风的用户可能会不高兴了。当然，还有那些希望把裤子上令人尴尬的水印吹干的人。用Jet Towel的确无法做到这两点，除非你的头又窄又平，或者是个瑜伽高手。
另一个不怎么振奋人心的消息是三菱似乎有些不愿大肆宣扬他们的成功产品。在我到日本之前，我碰到的人没有一个曾和我提起过Jet Towel。尽管在日本以外的其他亚洲地区的酒店和购物中心里Jet Towel上市已有一段时间了，但并不是随处都能见到它们的身影。好在西雅图的一家小公司Pacarc Inc.准备在美国开始经销Jet Towel。该公司首席执行长詹姆斯?埃拉德(James Allard)表示，他已经在医院、院校和企业展开了试验，还到西雅图的一家餐馆实地观测用户们的反应。他说，有时我们就坐在餐馆里，看到用户在用过Jet Towel后脸上洋溢著笑容，而且，他们还把朋友们带过来向他们做一番演示。
Jet Towel不但能真正烘干你的双手，而且还能带来一系列连锁反应。根据伦敦威斯敏斯特大学(University of Westminster) 1998年的一项调查发现，使用普通干手机43秒之后，手干了95%。据我本人的亲身体验，需要37秒才能达到这个效果。而使用Jet Towel只需6秒钟手就基本干了。如果人们无需再花费近一分钟的时间来烘干双手，将有可能给洗手习惯带来革命性的变革。人们如果知道可以马上烘干的话就再也不会谈“洗手”色变了。最重要的是，像后面排起无聊等待的长队、而正在使用干手机的人恨不得尽快烘干的尴尬局面再也不会出现了。
当然，也有人对Jet Towel评价不高。柯曾承认Jet Towel创新效果带来的优势，但同时指出Jet Towel这样一个设备不大适用于英国普通的洗手间。他指出，Jet Towel的用材不够结实、零部件可以拆卸，而在英国等国家，破坏公物的行为使得Jet Towel难有用武之地。他说，Jet Towel在亚洲国家或许能够完好无损，因为没有人会去破坏它们。而要是放在英国的校园里，下午回来你就会发现Jet Towel已经变得面目全非了。哎，英国儿童就是能折腾。
我认为，一旦用过Jet Towel之后，反对使用干手机的人就会闭上嘴巴。如果真是这样，全球的喜剧表演家恐怕就会想出一些搞笑的台词。我就能想出一个：想要吹脸，先看看你的头是否够平够扁。
