# American hotels have bibles. What quirks do other nations' hotels have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852 "2011-04-18T16:25:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/81 "2011-04-20T16:28:12Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > It’s not about infant mortality. **It’s about the mother not surviving childbirth.** Anyway, the _origin_ of the practice. In the community I’m talking about, there is little real fear of mortality. > > Once a taboo or a tradition is established, it’s not really a mystery as to how it persists. My family members engaging in this practice aren’t doing it based on any actual risk of mortality. Ah. :smack: Stupid me. I should have thought of that angle. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/82 "2011-04-20T16:53:44Z")
Stayed in a hotel in Yongsan a few months back (the New Seoul Hotel, IIRC) that featured a big screen HDTV on the wall, a desktop computer (running Windows XP. I could not figure out if it was connected to the internet or not), a deep kitchen style sink, and a window AC unit, all in a fairly small room. There was also a bathroom with some kind of crazy bathtub with weird angles and water jets everywhere, and a showerhead that didn’t get much pressure. I don’t know how much of that was it being a Korean hotel, and how much of it was it being a Korean hotel that likely mostly did business with American military personnel traveling through the area (more to do near Osan AB than near some of the smaller bases in the country). ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/83 "2011-04-20T16:57:38Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Many european hotels have two flush buttons for the toilets – one for a little flush, one for a big flush. Water conservation. In some parts of the world, dual flush toilets are common in all places, not just hotels. In New Zealand and Australia they are mandatory for new buildings and probably the only type that are manufactured these days. For some weird reason they haven’t caught on in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/84 "2011-04-20T17:00:31Z")
> [@tetranz](#): > > In some parts of the world, dual flush toilets are common in all places, not just hotels. In New Zealand and Australia they are mandatory for new buildings and probably the only type that are manufactured these days. For some weird reason they haven’t caught on in the USA. It’s not a mystery why they haven’t caught on. Americans are still resentful about “low-flow” toilets in the first place. It’ll be a long time before any other newfangled ideas get a chance. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/85 "2011-04-20T17:24:06Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > There’s also the guy taking your bags asking if you need a lady for the night. One guy bringing me up the beer I’d ordered in a hotel in Loei province asked, not realizing – not caring? – I had a wife in the bathroom. Reminds me of the time I stayed at a fairly nice hotel in Doula, Cameroon, which had among the amenities a variety of rather nicely dressed young ladies lounging about the lobby. There were four of us in our group. Three of us had rooms on the second floor, while G, a rather proper senior scientist, was on an upper floor. One night as we were coming back from dinner, one of the young ladies got into the elevator with us and sidled up to G. She said, very courteously, “Excuse me sir, are you sleeping alone tonight?” G turned bright red and stammered out, “But, but, I’m married!” She got a quizzical look on her face, and said very matter-of-factly, “Your wife, she is here with you?” Just then we arrived at the second floor and the rest of us stepped out. As the door closed on G and the young lady we were amused at the glazed look on his face.😃 ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/86 "2011-04-20T17:41:25Z")
> [@](#): > > This is getting very digressive from the thread, but you might find it interesting to note that in Bengali Hindu culture, the equivalent of a “baby shower” is really more of like a “last meal” for the mother. She gets all her favourite foods and stuff, well, because, things might not work out so well. And, similarly, no baby-related gifts. Everything is for the mother. Very interesting. In Balinese Hinduism, traditionally babies are not given names for 90 days, nor are their feet ever allowed to touch the ground. Because for the first 90 days they are considered to still be part of the God world, not of this world. No doubt also related to infant mortality rates and the observance of long standing traditions. (sorry to continue the hijack!) ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/87 "2011-04-20T17:54:02Z")
I know many people from disparate cultures who have the “thing” about not buying for the baby before it’s born. In those cases, it’s more of a superstition, not tempting the fates sort of thing. From Sicilian Catholics to Evangelistic Christian American Mutts, I’ve heard this tradition. Also not having the birthday party before the actual day. So even if the birthday falls on Monday, the child has to wait until the following weekend to have the party. As a good friend, I generally found out what they wanted, bought all the basics, and kept it quietly at my house until the day, then let them reimburse me. I stayed in an American hotel last December which had a Gideon Bible, a Book of Mormon, and a Koran all co-existing peacefully in the same bedside table. ETA: During which time new toilets were being installed in my house - dual flush ones. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/88 "2011-04-20T18:12:07Z")
Regarding the key card that needs to go in the slot to use lights, ac, etc. - you can just stick any credit card or ID card in there, at least at every place I stayed at. I just stayed at the Radisson Decapolis in Miraflores in Lima, and they actually have one of those that already has a blank white card stuck in it so you don’t have to bother to put one of your own cards in it… ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/89 "2011-04-20T18:16:50Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > It’s not about infant mortality. It’s about the mother not surviving childbirth. Anyway, the _origin_ of the practice. In the community I’m talking about, there is little real fear of mortality. > > Once a taboo or a tradition is established, it’s not really a mystery as to how it persists. My family members engaging in this practice aren’t doing it based on any actual risk of mortality. (Thread relates to not buying baby things before the birth) I don’t get it. How does the mother not surviving childbirth make baby things bought prior to the birth useless? Isn’t the now-single father going to need the baby things to take care of the baby? Or was it a given that the father would not want the baby and the baby would go straight to an orphanage that presumably had a stock of baby care products and clothing already? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/90 "2011-04-20T18:19:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The hotel we stayed at in Barcelona required you to put your room card in a little holder to turn on the lights and a/c in the room - thus it all turned off when you left. That’s a great idea that I hope some US hotels will copy. Whenever I have stayed in hotels overseas with features like these, I put my grocery discount card in the slot when I leave. Otherwise the A/C or heat (depending upon the time of year) will turn off. It doesn’t require your room key to keep the power on in the room, just any old plastic card will do. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/91 "2011-04-20T18:25:55Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I’ve heard hotels in Islamic countries usually have some kind of arrow or design in the floor pointing toward Mecca. They do _not_ just keep copies of the Koran in the nightstand where a non-Muslim could potentialy defile it. Apparently not all Muslims are quite as protective. I live in an area of Chicago with a large Middle Eastern population, and a Muslim evangelist group left an English translation of the Koran hanging in a plastic bag on my door. It was accompanied with a request that it be treated with “respect”. Not being [a dick](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/04/20/2011-04-20_terry_jones_koranburning_pastor_of_the_dove_world_outreach_center_will_pack_pist.html), I added it to my library with the Bible. > [@acsenray](#): > > Orthodox Jews often also use ovens and lights that flip on and off by themselves, to avoid flipping switches, which violates the ban on working on the Sabbath. Some of my clients are Orthodox, and they have appliances that have a “sabbath mode”. My brother is a Master Plumber and worked on a home in an Orthodox subdivision. The kitchen actually had two separate milk and meat dishwashers in addition to separate sinks. In order to make the dishwashers drain well, he had to change the plumbing around. Luckily, one of his other clients is a Rabbi, so my brother was able to call him to get a rabbinical ruling on the plumbing changes. Very happy client. > [@](#): > > They also sometimes get a “Sabbath goy,” a non-Jew who will do that stuff for them. The young Bill Clinton was a “Sabbath goy” for a wealthy Jewish family in Little Rock. “We must respect the other fellow’s religion,but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.” - H. L. Menchen ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/92 "2011-04-20T19:24:27Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > (Thread relates to not buying baby things before the birth) > > I don’t get it. How does the mother not surviving childbirth make baby things bought prior to the birth useless? Isn’t the now-single father going to need the baby things to take care of the baby? Or was it a given that the father would not want the baby and the baby would go straight to an orphanage that presumably had a stock of baby care products and clothing already? At the time of the “shower,” the mother is facing the prospect of death, historically not an unlikely circumstance. The shower is for the mother and the mother only. What the baby might or might not need, that’s a consideration for a later date. For now, it’s all for the mother. Additionally, it’s bad luck to behave as if the baby itself will survive at all, anyway. And traditionally, there wasn’t a whole lot that a baby would need that wasn’t already around a standard household there weren’t a lot of goods that were exclusively baby-centric and there certainly wasn’t a consumer baby culture. My grandmother made fun if my mom for using diapers, because, hey, babies poop everywhere and it’s easier to clean the floor than it is to keep washing clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/93 "2011-04-20T19:27:51Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Whenever I have stayed in hotels overseas with features like these, I put my grocery discount card in the slot when I leave. Otherwise the A/C or heat (depending upon the time of year) will turn off. It doesn’t require your room key to keep the power on in the room, just any old plastic card will do. Interesting. They cheaped out, huh? Next time I stay in a room like this, I’ll play around and find where the switch is. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/94 "2011-04-20T19:51:09Z")
German hotels only make up the bed half way, ie. there is no top sheet or blanket. Instead you get a big feathery comforter. They also don’t have closets. Closets are considered rooms and rooms are taxed. So the Germans use a “shrunk” instead (basically a big cabinet or armoire). Also, the last German hotel I stayed in the pillows were so small I rolled up my coat for a pillow. ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/95 "2011-04-20T22:17:50Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > German hotels only make up the bed half way, ie. there is no top sheet or blanket. Instead you get a big feathery comforter. They also don’t have closets. Closets are considered rooms and rooms are taxed. So the Germans use a “shrunk” instead (basically a big cabinet or armoire). These mysterious things sound like (a) a duvet, and (b) a wardrobe. Or am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/96 "2011-04-20T22:35:00Z")
> [@A.Gwilliam](#): > > These mysterious things sound like (a) a duvet, and (b) a wardrobe. > > Or am I missing something? I think you’re on the right track. “shrunk” = “Schrank” = “wardrobe”. I thought for a moment that the outlandishness of duvets and wardrobes in a hotel room was another one of those odd cultural differences between Germany and America, so thanks for clearing that impression. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/97 "2011-04-20T23:02:38Z")
Every hotel I’ve been to in England seemed to have a Corby Trouser Press. Charming device to have if your crease needs sharpening, sure, but a regular ironing board would be more versatile. And shower stalls that don’t close - no curtain for the tub, just a hinged shield that only extended a couple of feet. No way to prevent overspray onto the floor. I once stayed in a Marriott in Seoul that had a Bible, Book of Mormon, and Teachings of the Buddha in the nightstand - all bilingual editions. There was barely room for my porn. I haven’t seen the paper strip over the toilet seat reading “Sanitized for Your Protection” anywhere in many a year. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/98 "2011-04-20T23:14:59Z")
Oh, another one: I’ve seen a Sabbath button in a hotel elevator - in Miami Beach. It went straight down to the kosher Chinese restaurant on the ground floor. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/99 "2011-04-20T23:29:30Z")
Yeah I hate those stupid half-door things on the tub. What’s so hard about a sime curtain? ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/100 "2011-04-21T00:03:55Z")
A nine inch cockroach in a Manila hotel right next to the light switch. I don’t know if every room came with one or not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852.md?page=6)