Prats of The Week

Tis a Monday morning, time for that perennial favourite my prestigious "Prats of The Week" Award.

This week the award goes to our old friends in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who commissioned a study into "The Role of Towels As a Control to Reduce Slip Potential".

Eh?

Yes you did read that correctly!

The HSE have spent £12K of our money, on a study to try to find out whether a towel on a bathroom floor makes one less likely to slip.

Seemingly researchers, at the Health and Safety Laboratory in Buxton, squeezed varying amounts of water on a variety of different floor surfaces. They bought a set of identical towels from a local supermarket.

They splashed rough tiles and smooth tiles, and worn vinyl and new vinyl with varying amounts of water.

Then, using a machine-operated pendulum, they measured the friction produced from a towel rubbing against the surfaces.

Guess what the results were?

Sorry, you will have to wait a bit.

Having spent £12K, and a month conducting these tests, they came up with no results whatsoever.

Kevin Hallas said that the research had been "complicated":

"Unfortunately the testing carried out here

is insufficient to draw significant conclusions.

We expected the investigation to be more

straightforward than it was.

We need to do more work."

The good news is, that they indeed to spend another year, and a further £12K, on continuing research into this weighty matter.

Well done lads, money well spent!

Until they have completed their research, make sure that you are extra careful in your bathrooms.

HSE well deserving Prats of The Week!