By British tradition, the hot tap is on the left
Experts at BBC have attempted to answer all these burning questions.
Open one – you'll scald yourself,
open the other – you'll freeze
"I've always wondered why you have two separate taps on one sink? You either burn your hands or get ice-cold water on them. It seems there's no other option," asks 28-year-old Claudio Marongiu from Italy on the BBC website.
"This tradition dates back to when hot and cold water were supplied to the house separately to prevent contamination through the mixer," replies Kevin Wellman, director of the Accredited Institute of Plumbing and Engineering Equipment. "Cold water came from the main supply and was drinkable. Hot water came from a local tank, often located in the attic," explains the expert. "This created different water pressures. So if, say, unsuitable taps or valves were installed, one water flow could cross over into the other tap."
Thus, water supply regulations did not allow cold and hot water to mix because hot water that had been sitting in an attic tank was not potable.
According to the 1965 code of practice "CP 310," it is recommended that, where possible, the hot tap be installed on the left. "One reason this rule has persisted all these years is that a visually impaired person could always know which side had hot water and which had cold," explains Wellman.
Pull the cord – and the light comes on
Tourists visiting Britain are also often baffled by the absence of a light switch in the bathroom – until they realize they just need to pull the cord hanging by the door. 26-year-old Fahmi Oman from Malaysia asked for enlightenment on this matter, and we turned to John O'Neill, head of technical engineering at the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC).
"In the United Kingdom, we follow a unified set of requirements for electrical installations. According to this code, the bathroom is considered a high-risk area because a person may be immersed in water in the bathtub. The human body's ability to conduct electricity significantly increases when immersed or partially immersed in water," says the specialist.
"We believe that any possible contact with live electrical equipment potentially increases the risk of electric shock, and in some situations, the outcome can be fatal. It's not just about wet hands – because in the kitchen, for example, you have sockets and switches – but specifically about immersion in water," he continues. "You should not be able to reach and turn something on while in the bath. Cord switches are allowed in the bathroom because you do not directly touch the switch," says O'Neill.
According to him, other countries allow sockets and switches in bathrooms, but this is not due to differences in voltage. "It's all about risk assessment and the regulations adopted in each specific country," the specialist replies.
My home is my castle,
and my trash bin is its pride
"Why in Britain does every nice house on every street have trash bins on display, as if they were a source of pride and joy?" wonders 46-year-old Stephanie Taylor-Jamal, who moved to the English town of Watford from Bangalore, India. According to her, although some areas of her hometown Bangalore are drowning in waste, no one puts trash bins on public display.
Here's what Elizabeth Shove, professor of sociology at Lancaster University, had to say on the matter: "The presence of trash bins is linked to regulated waste collection, and that's why they are kept in plain sight," she says.
According to the Public Health Act of 1848, municipal authorities began collecting waste from citizens. In those days, people simply burned household waste, and the ashes were then dumped into a special ash pit located in the backyard – the same place as the privy. Then the collector would collect the ashes from there, sometimes even daily.
"By 1900, these ash pits could no longer accommodate all the waste of each individual family, and their location in the backyard made waste collection difficult; moreover, their small capacity made them unsuitable for large volumes of refuse," states a scientific report co-authored by Professor Shove.
In the 1950s, metal trash bins were introduced in Britain, but in the 1960s they were replaced by larger plastic bins on wheels, which were placed at the front door – to make it easier for garbage collectors to work. This is also because in densely populated areas, houses are built so close together that there is often no space at the side of the house or in the backyard to place a trash bin.