Hand Sanitizer Dispenser for Children
| Hand Sanitizer Dispenser for Children | |
| Object date | Fall 2020 |
| Place of Origin | Lahti, Finland |
| Designer | Unknown |
| Manufacturer | SKC Desi Oy Ltd. |
| Materials | Painted steel, plastic, movement sensor, electric motor |
by student Katriina Kallioinen
Pöpönpesupuu (“Germwashtree”) is a hand sanitizer dispenser for children. On the metal frame, it reads: “non-alcoholic cleaning foam suitable for children disinfects hands safely and gently”. According to the manufacturer’s website, Pöpönpesupuu makes cleaning hands fun and easy (SKC Desi Oy Ltd, 2020).
In April 2020 the Finnish public health organization THL recommended placing hand sanitizer dispensers in shopping centres (Kiviranta, 2020). The dispenser (as pictured here) is currently not in use, as it is located on a closed playground in a shopping center in Helsinki during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of confirmed cases is much higher than in April 2020 (“Varmistetut koronatapaukset Suomessa (COVID-19”), 2020).
Pöpönpesupuu exists in the cultural space of the pandemic, in the hopeful in-between time of two pandemic waves in Finland when hand hygiene was seen as a sufficient measure of protection. Its design message seems happy, almost naïve, which creates a conflict with its purpose of use.
SKC Desi Oy Ltd (2020, December 9). Pöpönpesupuu. Retrieved from https://www.skcdesi.com/fi/kasidesiautomaatit-jalalliset/97-poepoenpesupuu.html
Kiviranta (2020, December 9). Käsihygieniaa voidaan vielä tehostaa – käsien desinfiointi tulisi olla mahdollista kaikissa julkisissa tiloissa. Retrieved from https://thl.fi/fi/-/kasihygieniaa-voidaan-viela-tehostaa-kasien-desinfiointi-tulisi-olla-mahdollista-kaikissa-julkisissa-tiloissa-
THL (2020, December 9). Varmistetut koronatapaukset Suomessa (COVID-19). Retrieved from https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/d40b2aaf08be4b9c8ec38de30b714f26
Image
Picture taken by student, 2020.
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