The Dyson Airblade Wash+Dry faucet

I don't know about everyone else, but I positively hate the hand dryers in commercial bathrooms.  They are entirely too loud.  My other pet peeve is to have to look around for a towel to dry my hands if the restroom does not provide wall hand dryers.

At the Independence Hall Visitor Center in Philadelphia I was delighted to use this little jewel of a faucet in the restroom.  It's a smart, little Dyson with no handles to turn or buttons to push. Not only can you wash your hands at the sink but you can also dry your hands at the sink which eliminates getting drops of water on the countertop and/or floor.  And it's more quiet than the wall units.  Sweet.

As you can imagine Philadelphia is busy this time of year with national and international visitors.  I could hear the sighs and see the confusion that some visitors experienced trying to use the faucet. To activate the water flow just extend your hands under the center of the faucet, then move your hands to the sides to activate the air flow, so you can dry each hand separately. I helped a few people and then went to the other side of the room to notice how people reacted.  Many hesitated but once they used it, they liked the experience.  I asked a few women as they were leaving and several of them mentioned that they preferred it to "those noisy hand dryers."   I nodded my head in agreement.