I have been to the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa on a few occasions. It seems that no matter what the country is, you’re not supposed to shake with your left hand because the people “use” it to cleanse themselves in the bathroom. This is all starting to sound like urban legend stuff. It just sounds fishy that no matter what the country, someone will always tell you about the “ol’ dirty paw.” It doesn’t seem very effective anyway. So, do people actually wipe with their hands or not? –Kevin Davis
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Of course, beanbrain–what do you think, they have a secret stash of Charmin? Years ago one of my correspondents recalled looking out a bus window in Bombay early one morning and seeing thousands of slum dwellers squatting in a field. “They had, as far as I could see, no folded pieces of paper, no catalogs, no half-rolls of toilet paper,” he wrote. “Rather they carried with them small brass pitchers filled with water.” I gather manual contact is minimized to the extent practical. Another correspondent says that in Malaysia, “a hose hangs down next to the ‘toilet,’ which is really a stand over a hole in the floor you squat over.” One uses the hose in the manner of a bidet. Works pretty well, I’m told. Still, the left hand unavoidably gets involved from time to time, so it makes sense to forbid use thereof when shaking hands, eating, etc, lest fecal bacteria be transmitted.
On the Spot
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
