Towels

Gone the same way as red telephone boxes and Austin Allegros

Unhygienic. Usually you only found them with the last few feet of towel left on which 100 people had previously attempted to dry their hands.

Now replaced with hot air driers - that often just blow cold air.

Still available:

I spent a few university vacations working for Advance Linen (big purple arrow on the front of the towel boxes). They were absorbed by Initial. A good employer.

Now part of Rentokil, although they stuck with the name Initial for towels and linen services as they didn't think it looked good having Rentokil vans turning up regularly at places like hospitals or hotels.

Ah yes, there are still a few around, but they used to jam never bee refilled with the laundered towels, and got vandalised. These days its all hot air driers, which although they may well be more hygienic, often don't seem to do the job or depending on their siting and your height, roast your balls while you are trying to dry your hands. Dysan has a lot to answer for. Brian

Or too hot air that you cannot stand to put your hands under, see my other reply for the side effect of this situation. Brian

I seem to remember they were much bigger with red or blue writing through them ....

they just blow the air over your crotch area and it looks like you peed your self

Near where I live you have a choice between slow but hot and fast but cold. Neither is much good.

The Dyson "Air Blade" ones are all right, once you have worked out how to use them. The first one I tried was mounted rather high, so I put my hands in from the sides which seemed to be logical and it didn't work.

The way that one is mounted you wouldn't be able to use it as there isn't enough slack. That was one problem, plus having to wait until it clicks before it will let you have another bit.

I assume that is one of the more modern types, where pulling on the towel gives you enough to dry your hands, after which it neatly rolls up the excess.

Sometimes they did get stuck, but either a firm clout on the side or a pull of the other side released them. Much of the bother though was that they kept forgetting to check them or if they had run through, or if the local pea brain had spent ten minutes just pulling it through for no apparent reason. Brian