During a trip to Hairy Monk on Manhattan's 3rd Avenue, I enjoyed a nice cold glass of Smithwick's -- my favorite beer -- with a few friends. But this story isn't about my favorite beer which is frothy, delicious and was served in a Guinness glass (the beer is brewed by Guinness).

This story is about the situation I found in the women's rest room. No -- it's nothing gross. Just a perfect example of poor planning.

I think we all know the consequences of "breaking the seal" so to speak. So I waited probably a little longer than I should have before I finally made my way to the restroom toward the back of the bar. I stepped in and discovered something quite rare for a Manhattan bar on a Friday night -- the ladies' room was empty!

When I slid into one of the stalls (they can be kind of small in New York), I saw three locks on the door. I was in a bit of a rush to lock these doors considering the circumstances but which lock would actually achieve proper lock-age? The original door lock or one of the two bolts that were screwed in above the original lock?

First, I tried the lock that was part of the door but, of course, this was silly; if the original door lock worked, why would they have added the other three locks? The original lock was too short to reach the frame of the door. When I attempted to lock the top bolt, I found that the lock on the door was not even with the female end of the lock on the frame of the door. Finally, the middle lock did the trick. Hooray -- door was locked!

Before I left the stall, I had to get a picture of this phenomenon. Let it be a warning to all bars -- measure twice, add a lock once.