When traveling, I never know where I’ll find clues to the culture of the place I’m exploring. Recently I found some hints about Australian culture in public men’s rooms.

Some years ago the American media was full of controversy over needle exchange programs for intravenous drug users. Proponents were trying to slow the spread of diseases like AIDS. Opponents were concerned about enabling drug addiction.

I didn’t see any mention of a related health issue: Janitorial workers becoming infected by sticks from needles left in trash bins. To counter this threat, some Australian restrooms have safes into which people can discard hypodermic needles. The small, steel boxes are padlocked to keep innocent—and not-so-innocent—fingers out.

Australian authorities have a refreshing directness about such things. More so than their American counterparts, they seem to do the right thing with minimal partisan fuss.

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When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the condom machines I encountered in the mens’ rooms of diners and roadhouses. There was something naughty and mysterious about them, hinting the existence of a world about which I knew nothing.

I haven’s seen this type of vending machine in decades. Finding them in Australia sent me straight back to the ’50s.

Today, the idea that a young man out on a date would stop in the restroom to buy a condom seems almost quaint. Back then, all we were concerned about was getting “knocked up.” In recent years, the grim reality is the risk of contracting terrible diseases.

Regrettably, my innocence about such matters is long gone.

(Note to fellow bloggers: People look at you funny when you take photographs in rest rooms.)