More troubles with my theatre scrubs this morning.
Someone had tied an incredibly secure knot in the tie on the trousers I first grabbed. I only discovered this when I was trying to pull them up and could only get to mid thigh before they were stuck. I tried unavailingly to untie them but decided in the end that, wasteful of the laundry process though it was, I’d be better off chucking them out into the used scrubs bin and getting a new pair.
The unknown surgeon whom I surprised whilst he was getting his own scrubs didn’t seem reassured when I tried to explain the reason I was standing in front of him wearing only a top and underpants. If anything “Sorry, my trousers were defective” caused him even further dismay. I don’t know who he was but I’m guessing he’s never had to use the shared changing rooms of a French Hospital.
As an aside, the part of people’s eyes that you can see, what you’re referring to when you say someone’s eyes ’widened’ or they ‘bugged out’, is called the palpebral fissure. It’s a lovely term but not very poetic. In fact, though, it’s the only difference between someone who has so-called big or small eyes. The actual eyeball itself is a very similar size for everyone, at around 24 mm in diameter, or around an inch in old money. That’s about the same size as a ping pong ball. Think of that next time you play beer pong (or go to one of those exotic bars in Thailand).
