# This hotel room is stupid. Grr.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 20, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684 "2011-07-20T06:14:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/1 "2011-07-20T06:14:18Z")
Ok so I’m in Rochester, MN for a juggling festival until Sunday. (I’m actually here to promote my bid for the magazine contract, but that’s irrelevant.)
I turned on the lights and two bright ceiling fixtures came on, lighting up the room like it was daylight. Ok, that’s good. Dark hotel rooms are a little creepy. I went to turn on the lamp on the table between the two beds and surprise! It’s unplugged. So I plug it in. I also plug in my laptop there. Then I turn on the table lamp and go to turn off the light switch for the overhead lights.
And the room goes black. The switch controls the outlet. So yes, I can turn the bedside lamp on and off from bed, but the OVERHEAD FRIGGIN LIGHTS will stay on until I turn them off at the switch, on the other side of the room. Whose brilliant idea was this? How am I supposed to read myself to the edge of sleep?
ARG.
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### Author:  [@RoeCocoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoeCocoa)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/2 "2011-07-20T06:23:06Z")
Are you positive that’s the only switch and the only outlet in the room? Not questioning your observation skills; it’s just that everyone who ever stayed in your hotel room must have encountered the same problem.
Is the TV also on the same circuit?
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/3 "2011-07-20T06:24:35Z")
> [@OpalCat](#):
>
> Ok so I’m in Rochester, MN for a juggling festival until Sunday.
I just have to say that this is one of those sentences that I bet has never, in the history of mankind, been spoken/written before this moment.
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### Author:  [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/4 "2011-07-20T06:27:19Z")
Maybe they wired it like at my home, where the switch controls the top outlet but not the bottom outlet. See what happens if you move the plug.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/5 "2011-07-20T06:39:52Z")
> [@zoid](#):
>
> I just have to say that this is one of those sentences that I bet has never, in the history of mankind, been spoken/written before this moment.
Seeing as Rochester has been practically Mecca for jugglers since the Vaudeville days, that seems unlikely.
Forget it, Zoid; It’s Rochester.
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### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/6 "2011-07-20T06:47:21Z")
the TV is on the dresser which is massively heavy and it’s plugged in behind there. It’s also way on the other side of the room so it wouldn’t really help much.
Already tried both plugs in the outlet (that was the first thing I tried) --they’re both hooked up to the switch. It’s so LAME.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/7 "2011-07-20T11:22:20Z")
And did you call down to the desk to ask, or just bitch to us?
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/8 "2011-07-20T12:10:40Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#):
>
> Seeing as Rochester has been practically Mecca for jugglers since the Vaudeville days, that seems unlikely.
You’re thinking of Rochester, New York. Different Rochester. Optics, film, abandoned subway, deaf people, the Lilac Festival, and juggling. Everybody knows about Balls n’ Bowling Pins over Brighton and the annual Kodak Chainsaw and Flaming Torch Invitational. C’mon! I’ll bet there’s a lot of confused jugglers at the Rochester, New York airport thinking “Juggling in Rochester, _Minnesota_? What the fuck? That’s like having the National Chicken Wing Festival in Buffalo, Wyoming!”
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/9 "2011-07-20T12:22:51Z")
Also, FWIW, this rant is full of weak sauce. Odd hotel room electrics are a given. Not enough outlets, switch-controlled outlets, and, occasionally in the US, the keycard holder inside the door to turn everything on and off. And don’t forget the wi-fi slowdown at sunset, so you can’t stream Netflix. In even the cheapest European hotels, you’re given 600 count sheets, fluffy Egyptian towels, free porn, a dedicated T1 line, a mini-bar with inexpensive absinthe and heroin, free health care, a free public transportation pass, and discounts on local prostitutes. Everything in Europe is better than anything in the US; you know that! They should have had the juggling convention there instead.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/10 "2011-07-20T15:35:00Z")
> [@elmwood](#):
>
> You’re thinking of Rochester, New York. […] I’ll bet there’s a lot of confused jugglers at the Rochester, New York airport thinking “Juggling in Rochester, _Minnesota_? What the fuck? That’s like having the National Chicken Wing Festival in Buffalo, Wyoming!”
Buh…
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/11 "2011-07-20T21:45:55Z")
> [@Morgyn](#):
>
> Maybe they wired it like at my home, where the switch controls the top outlet but not the bottom outlet. See what happens if you move the plug.
Fool, don’t you know better than to go around offering helpful suggestions…?
> [@OpalCat](#):
>
> the TV is on the dresser which is massively heavy and it’s plugged in behind there. It’s also way on the other side of the room so it wouldn’t really help much.
>
> Already tried both plugs in the outlet (that was the first thing I tried) --they’re both hooked up to the switch. It’s so LAME.
Told you, **Morgyn**. 😛
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### Author:  [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/12 "2011-07-20T21:50:22Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> And did you call down to the desk to ask, or just bitch to us?
Dial it back.
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### Author:  [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/13 "2011-07-20T22:08:27Z")
“Just bitch to us.” Isn’t that what we’re for? I like reading other people’s complaints. It’s one of the things I come here for. (that and the pie.)
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### Author:  [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/14 "2011-07-20T22:45:25Z")
> [@Malacandra](#):
>
> > [@Morgyn](#):
> >
> > Maybe they wired it like at my home, where the switch controls the top outlet but not the bottom outlet. See what happens if you move the plug.
>
> Fool, don’t you know better than to go around offering helpful suggestions…?
[Hangs head in shame and embarrassment]
I can’t stop myself from trying to help. It’s an illness.
> [@Malacandra](#):
>
> > [@OpalCat](#):
> >
> > Already tried both plugs in the outlet (that was the first thing I tried) --they’re both hooked up to the switch. It’s so LAME.
>
> Told you, **Morgyn**. 😛
[sobs in despair]
And it _never helps_.
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### Author:  [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/15 "2011-07-20T23:41:12Z")
Hey! OpalCat is ~60 miles from me.
I’ve only stayed at the Days Inn (downtown), because they have fairly cheap rooms. Not that it helps, but I don’t remember that electrical issue.
Could you remove the bulbs / tubes from the ceiling lights?
Brian
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### Author:  [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/16 "2011-07-21T00:11:47Z")
> [@N9IWP](#):
>
> Hey! OpalCat is ~60 miles from me…
>
> Brian
Can you get 60 miles’ worth of extension cords?
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### Author:  [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/17 "2011-07-21T00:44:54Z")
If you can’t juggle between all those lights and switches, then how do you expect to fare at the convention?! Geez.
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### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/18 "2011-07-21T05:46:36Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> And did you call down to the desk to ask, or just bitch to us?
I don’t think there is anything they can do about it at the desk, I mean it’s the way it’s wired.
> [@N9IWP](#):
>
> Could you remove the bulbs / tubes from the ceiling lights?
Even standing on the bed I can’t reach the ceiling fixtures. Plus, starting tomorrow night, I’ll have a roommate, so probably disabling the primary lighting wouldn’t be a good idea.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/19 "2011-07-21T06:01:10Z")
Oh well. I’ll give it a shot. How about the bathroom? You know, there’s somewhere to sit and everything 🙂
Hope you can work something out, and enjoy the juggling. Best of luck with your proposal.
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### Author:  [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hotel-room-is-stupid-grr/589684/20 "2011-07-21T06:02:50Z")
> [@OpalCat](#):
>
> Plus, starting tomorrow night, I’ll have a roommate
Good luck trying to sleep while the flaming juggling batons are lighting up your room.
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