> Upstairs, there was a room with just a toilet, and a second room next to it with a sink, tub, and shower. (The shower, by the way, was separate from the tub, not part of it.)

This makes sense. One room is for defecating, the other room is for cleaning. This is something that we were incorporating into our architecture designs back when I was in college and pursuing that career. However, most Americans think that all of those things -- toilet, shower/tub, and sink -- belong in the same room.

> The cold water faucet -- er, "tap" -- was on the left, and the hot water tap was on the right. (Brunnen-G was surprised to learn that this was not normal in America, but later I discovered that , in the restaurants and hotels we visited in New Zealand, hot was on the left and cold was on the right. So I don't know what the story is.)

Most likely the hotels are set up for international guests (read: Americans) who expect hot on the left and cold on the right. Either that or a plumber from the States moved to NZ and is inadvertantly scalding everyone.

> Thunderbirds is a British television show that Americans have never heard of but which pretty much any New Zealander in their late twenties or early thirties grew up on and loves still.

If you were just a few years older and grew up in the Midwest, you would have remembered Thunderbirds, Fireball X-Something, and The One With The Mermaid Puppet. They were on WGN just before that station started to carry Star Blazers.

-Faux "Your fingers must be tired." Pas