Say you’ve just finished chopping up some tomatoes and hot chillies, you hands are covered in juices and hot chilli seeds. You could wipe your hands on the tea towel but you just know somebody will moan if you do that. You could carefully get a paper towel to wipe your hands on being careful to only touch the towel that you need OR you could get one of these “No-Touch” Paper Towel Dispenser and Cutter.

The Point and Cut paper towel (or kitchen roll to us UKers) fits underneath on of your wall cabinets, to dispense paper you simply hold you hand in front of a sensor on the right. Once the desired amount of paper has rolled out you move your hand to the left and it automatically cuts it.

One of the aims of the Point and Cut is hygiene:

The Point and Cut greatly reduces cross contamination in the kitchen. Hands can transfer germs from contaminated raw meat, eggs and poultry to other foods or surfaces. Each year close to 79 million people in the U.S. become ill from food-related diseases. This results in an estimated 5000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Poor hygiene, which usually means poorly washed hands, causes many food related illness outbreaks. Touchless, or hands free towel dispensing reduces cross contamination during hand washing and drying, which equals safer food and a safer environment. Users touch only the towels they need; the rest are kept clean, dry and sanitary enclosed in the dispenser. Next time you pick up that cloth kitchen towel, think about what it may have already been used for.

However we just think it’s cool and if that was the worst of my hygiene worries I’d be a happy healthy chap.

[Point and Cut found via Strange New Products]