January 21, 2011

Urinary Distraction Bengaluru Style

I see in the papers that both Sony and Sega are launching video games for mens urinals.  I'm not sure the environment needs more electronic gear to recycle when there are other forms of distraction available already in nature.

It is winter time here in Bengaluru, which is the season following the monsoon season.  During winter, the nights are chilly, the days are warm, and the air has dried out - a perfect storm for the breeding of mosquitoes.  Despite our abatement efforts, the house is full of them, and they are quite hungry - they attack anything sending off enough of a heat signature to qualify as food.  We're not sure where they come from; we think they are breeding in the water drains.  I kill at least a dozen each morning in the kitchen, and Alli does in another dozen or so in our bathroom.

So, by now you are wondering what mosquitoes has to do with the entertainment value of men urinating, and here is the answer to your query:  Mosquitoes.  The little blighter's seem to congregate in the wetter areas of the house - the bathrooms.  When standing and relieving myself, some will attack my stream, which provides quite a distraction to one's purpose.  You cannot just stop what you're doing for other remedies, you see, and very quickly a duel breaks out trying to splash the flying menace into the bowl for a quick trip to the great beyond.

So far, the mosquitoes are winning the duel.  I think it has to do with their maneuverability as they are quick to dash out of bound of the bowl, and cannot, in all good conscience, follow them out of bounds hose in hand.  However, this is not the case in the rest of Bengaluru as the men urinate just about anywhere they want to, thus they are not limited to the bowl space of the loo.  While I have no direct experience or data, I suspect the duel is more even in public, but there too, the lowly beasties win the war on shear numbers. However, I must wonder if it is the mosquitoes that are behind the movement of "Don't Urinate Here" signs placed in some places.

So, I think Sony and Sega are missing the mark with the devices, they only need to release some mosquitoes into the mens restrooms, and lower the room temperature to entice the bugs to go for it - especially, in those washrooms where a trough replaces a bowl and evens the odds of the game.

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