We’re in Manhattan at Kansas State University, celebrating their sesquicentennial, or 150th Anniversary this year! It’s a beautiful campus rich with history, traditions and stunning architecture. The beautiful Anderson Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. You could easily imagine Harry Potter flying through Hale Library’s Great Room, and Nichols Hall is not called The Castle without reason; its neo-Renaissance style is exactly what you’d think a Castle should look like. Trophies festoon the campus marking championships in everything from Baseball to Quidditch. (Yes, there’s a Quidditch trophy and they claim one, though we were never actually allowed to see it. Hmmm….)
“The Castle” – Nichols Hall was originally built in 1911 and today houses the Departments of Communication Studies, Theatre and Dance, Computing and Information Sciences.
But what’s our biggest take away from this trip? (Other than the fact that there’s a Caribou Coffee in the Student Union, or the idea that we want to be in college again?) Is it that K-State was the nation’s first Land Grant university? No. The amazing number of Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater and Udall scholars; more than any public school in the U.S.? No.
Kansas State is where we encountered one of the best innovations ever in the field of restroom automation and sanitation. We speak of the fully hands-free, automated sink. (Insert orchestral fanfare here.) Place your hands through the opening to activate the sink. “Auto-magically,” soap is dispensed, water flows, and an air dryer finishes you up. Totally hygienic. We know not where this modern marvel originated, but it belongs in the pantheon of bathroom fixtures, as well as in every public potty, right alongside the automatic seat covers we first found at Chicago O’Hare Airport.
K State’s “Sanitary Sink” – We love it!
While there are varying degrees of “Germophobia” in our little group, there is one thing everyone agrees on: The fewer things you actually have to touch in a public restroom, the better off you’ll be. This little marvel made it possible to clean up and leave almost entirely touch-free. (If it weren’t for the darned door!)
As mentioned, K-State has a beautiful campus and a lot to be proud of. They even have their own ice creamery! Manhattan is a cool college town with some really good restaurants and the completely awesome Flint Hills Discover Center. Despite all of that, you know we’re going to be talking about that sink for quite a while. I can’t say it’s the highlight of the trip, but it is pretty cool! And it’s definitely the sort of thing we hope to see more often.
What innovative solutions have you discovered on your travels? What little things along the way have become unexpected centers of attention? Share with us in a comment!
