I've also seen it as Harvard and MIT graduates, then someone comes in, washes his hands first, saying "at Yale, they taught us to wash our hands before touching a holy object."
Quite OT but I almost always wash my hands _before_ (and after) using the restroom. Especially in a public place, it always made sense to me to do it before and after. It seems much more hygienic both for the "holy object" and other people!
I was told that if your work in a chemical plant or a chip fab you learn to wash your hands before you don't want chemicals on sensitive parts
And of course you don't know what germs etc are on the taps :-)
You usually use gloves though
Yes so there is nothing wrong with an extra layer :-) ask any medical practitioner why the put gloves on after they wash their hands.
I thought one of the advantages of the "holey" variety was that you don't have to put your hands on anything to piss... ehh, Eli.