Two things are important in public toilets and similar confinements we find ourselves in for distinctively private affairs and these things are towels and hooks. Why write about them? What can we possibly gain from it? If you're not interested in towels and hooks, stop reading and enjoy your day. It's about metaphysics, perhaps. These things are so common that we don't perceive them as long as they're there. Their absence however, can cause some significant inconvenience.
Try using a public bathroom with a muddy floor and no hooks. Do you keep your overcoat on? Hold it in your hands? Do you put your briefcase on your knees, perhaps put it on the water reservoir? Or after you've washed your hands and there's nothing to dry them with, will you simply wipe them on your trousers, risking the frown of many onlookers once again in public? These are simple, everyday questions and we normally don't ponder them since towels and hooks are always available.
