I notice weird things when I'm on the road - away from home and away from the office. Maybe they are just different than what I'm used to seeing or maybe I'm just more aware having been mentally freed from the norm.
Or maybe there are just weird things at airports, in hotels and in taxi cabs. Maybe.
Either way, I always see opportunity, ideas and observe oddities while on the road. So, if ever you are looking for creative inspiration, hit the road and keep your eyes peeled.
On this trip the oddity was found at the Oakland airport - one of my favorite airports due its size and convenience vs. San Francisco airport.
Here it is - I'll just throw it at you:
The individual toilets, urinals and sinks in the men's restroom near gate 22 are numbered. Is that weird? Have you ever seen this? Ladies, is this unique to the male wash room?
I took a picture with my Blackberry because some of you may not believe me.
So before you think me odd for bringing it up (or for noticing it in the first place), what I really wanted to know is: why do they need numbers? Is it like how tables are numbered in a restaurant - so that Joe could tell Frank that a sink is overflowing near Gate 22 with laser targeted accuracy? Is it for inventory purposes (they've always put a serial number on my work computer). Is it for all the folks who talk on their phone while using the restroom to identify their location? Is sink #4 to be cleaned before sink #5?
Despite my curiosity, I did not ask someone (an airport employee) in the restroom about the numbering system (after all, it might be related to a national security issue for all I know).
Then, I thought, what if other random items were numbered?
What about stairs? That would save some people a lot of counting, right? What about "to go" coffee cups at your favorite coffee house? Would you like to know where you fall (XX million served)?
Oh, how the mind works - or perhaps slows to a crawl in this case!
In case you are keeping score, I just landed in Orange County - no wash room numbering system here... Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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