An Inadvertent Omission?

There is a catering company working on this rig that has been contracted by the drilling company. I have been told that working for the catering and cleaning crews on oil rigs is a popular back-to-work program for persons who have been formerly incarcerated. I have never inquired into the veracity of such claims, but I have noticed a significantly higher percentage of people on these crews with whole mouths full of gold teeth. It is something to behold.

But I digress from the point of my story. You see the catering company on this rig is a large and prosperous one, and they seem to be very concerned for the health and well being of their clientele. To promote these ends, they have publicity campaigns in place for displaying informational posters in and around the galley on how to take small, beneficial steps for improving yourself.

Most of these posters focus on exercise and eating right, but there is a poster that was just put up at the start of this month that has been intriguing me. It promotes handwashing, and it even lists a series of situations in which one should wash one's hands. They are as follows, verbatim:

• Before eating
• After smoking
• When they are dirty
• After coughing or sneezing
• After taking out the trash

I thought it admirable to encourage cleanliness among such a notoriously unclean environment as an oil rig, but something bothered me about this. Did it bother you too? They did not include in their list "After using the restroom".

Now at first I just brushed it off. I gave this poster writer the benefit of the doubt, assuming that the author failed to include it because it was unnecessary. Everyone is taught to wash their hands after using the bathroom. It's just too OBVIOUS.

But then I looked again, and my whole theory was blown out the window when I reread the phrase "When they are dirty". That's right. They are coaching us to wash our hands "When they are dirty", because that's not too obvious.

I am amused, I suppose. If I were to allow any other reaction, I suspect it would be "offended", but good gracious, let's not go there. So I shall remain amused.