Ode to Crapper
Thomas Crapper (1836-1910) is generally and incorrectly credited with the invention of the flush toilet and not knighted for the deed, which somehow seems incredibly appropriate in a Victorian context.[Link]
We are therefore most pleased to note that today (19 November) is World Toilet Day as declared by the World Toilet Organization based in Singapore.[Link] The purpose of the holiday is to lobby for better toilet conditions. One of the things that immediately comes to mind are service station toilets that never seem to be cleaned after construction and the consumable supplies – toilet paper and towels – are never renewed.
I am also reminded of the old days of air travel when airplane toilets had iron appliances that had simple flap valves like the ones in trailers. Somehow they always seemed to be blemished with a strange colored corrosion, not like normal rust, and a slightly golden patina, neither of which indicated any cleanliness standards. But the standards of airline cleanliness are pretty low from my observation, and that’s not on the main track here.
Thinking of iron toilets brings me to the Iron Bowl yesterday. I should like to extend my congratulations to the winning team and my condolences to the losing team. And my sympathies to all of those, who like me, went to one (or both) of these fine schools for an education, for the sad and sick travesty of inane athletic rivalry this game is.
Also, my thanks to all the fans of both teams who spend outrageous amounts of money on tickets and memorabilia that helps the two schools do their real mission in life, which is education. Although even that does not appear to be working very well at U Alabama since they keep sending me insipid and illiterate (well almost) pleas for benevolence, and constantly spell my name wrong, which is surprising since they got it right on the diploma and the tuition bills.
This seems to support an argument I have advanced in previous blots, that no matter how high the standards of the colleges, they cannot make sows ears out of polyester purses. If the primary and secondary schools are non-functional, which evidence is increasing beyond the whelming, then even four years of remedial education cannot produce an educated individual. The blame for this can be laid at the feet of standardized testing, political correctness, and special interest groups.[Link]
Beyond this, it may be questioned whether the current overdirectiveness of the college curricula can result in education. If the lower schools have fallen, can the colleges be far behind?
