There are few things in this life scarier than the electric shower:
Of particular note is the electrical circuit you need to flip on before you jump in. Note its uncanny resemblance to the executioner’s switch for an electric chair:
There is an art to coaxing an acceptable level of hot water out of these things, although to be honest even when the shower is at its maximum heat it’s still lukewarm at best. When turning the hot water on it’s necessary to move the knob very slowly with a keen eye riveted to the bathroom light. At the first sight of an almost imperceptible flicker you need to back off or the water will lose what little heat it has gathered and the process will need to be started all over again.
While showering it’s also important to not get too flamboyant with your hand movements, because slapping an exposed wire while shampooing your hair could potentially redirect the entire city’s power grid through your person and out your feet. I am fairly confident if Janet Leigh had her choice between this and the Bates Motel wash facilities she’d take her chances with Norman.
The electric shower is still superior to the other type of shower typically found in Peru–the solar-heated variety. Although solar showers usually provide much hotter water, they usually only do so for a maddeningly short period of time, which is right around high noon. For those with the luxury of waking up around the crack of noon I’m sure this is a brilliant invention, but for the rest of us they fall a little short.
