Why Do Hotels Always Have a Cloth Across the Bed: Many People Don’t Know Its Purpose
At the foot of hotel beds, there is often a cloth laid across, which you may have seen hundreds of times but never realized its purpose. This cloth is the biggest difference between hotel beds and beds at home. Many people may wonder why hotels always have a cloth across the bed. Besides decoration, does it serve any other purpose?
Why Do Hotels Always Have a Cloth Across the Bed?
If you pay close attention, you will easily notice a common feature in hotel bed setups: a decorative cloth with patterns and eye-catching colors laid across the foot of the bed. It serves the following purposes:
1. Decoration
As many people may have guessed, the primary purpose of this cloth is decoration. It usually comes in a subtle color, yet stands out against the crisp white bed linens, complementing the bed and the entire room.
2. Preventing Dirt When Eating on the Bed
Many people stay in hotels to fully relax and enjoy their time, and eating on the bed is one of the best ways to indulge. To maximize relaxation, many people opt not to go downstairs for meals but instead have food delivered directly to the room, eating in bed while watching TV.
However, since the bed linens are white, they can easily get stained by food crumbs or spilled sauces. This concern is addressed by the cloth laid across the bed. It usually has a darker color and is made from materials that are easier to clean. This is one of the reasons why hotels always use this cloth.
For families with young children who enjoy snacking or making a mess, you can have the child sit on the cloth to eat, making cleanup much easier for the adults.
3. A Place for Personal Belongings
Many people have a habit of placing their personal items such as backpacks, bags, phones, laptops, and cameras on the bed when they enter the hotel room. These items can carry dirt and bacteria, which can stain the white bed linens, making them look unattractive and less luxurious, not to mention less hygienic when you lie down.
The cloth across the bed prevents this. You can place your belongings on it instead. The foot of the bed is also a convenient place to put things when you haven’t yet figured out a better spot.
4. A Place for Feet
In Europe, people often lie down on the bed at any time, even when wearing shoes or socks. Shoes often carry dirt, and socks may have odors, which are both forbidden on the bed. In this case, the cloth across the bed acts as an effective footrest. Guests can place their feet on the bed comfortably without worrying about staining or unpleasant odors on the linens.
5. Other Special Roles
Some people maintain their daily exercise routines even when traveling. Since it’s not always possible to carry a yoga mat everywhere, the cloth across the hotel bed can serve as a temporary substitute. For wo.men during their menstrual pe.riod, it can serve as a pad.
Now you understand why hotels always have a cloth across the bed, right? Its functions are quite versatile, aren’t they? Make sure to take advantage of it during your next trip!
Health Experts Warn: Why You Shouldn’t Use Your Phone in the Toilet
Medical experts advise people not to use their phones while going to the toilet, as this habit can negatively affect your health. Here are the specific reasons they highlight:
1. Increases Risk of Blood and Digestive Diseases
Using your phone in the bathroom makes it easy for harmful bacteria to stick to your device and travel with you everywhere. Common harmful bacteria include:
Salmonella – can cause diarrhea, typhoid, and intestinal inflammation. If it spreads from the intestines into the bloodstream and other organs, it may lead to dangerous complications.
E. coli – may cause blood infections, bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, meningitis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and even death.
C. difficile – causes diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, and can be fatal. Its virulence is also increasing over time.
2. Damages the Eyes
Toilet lighting is usually dim and not suitable for viewing electronic devices. This is particularly harmful to children, increasing the risk of nearsightedness. For adults, long-term phone use in the bathroom can lead to
3. Harms the Brain
Using your phone in the toilet often keeps you sitting for long periods in a posture without proper support. Excessive focus restricts blood circulation, leading to pooling of blood. When you stand up, you may feel dizzy or lightheaded.
4. Increases Risk of Hemorrhoids
Studies show that even in healthy people, prolonged sitting on the toilet — whether browsing the phone or reading newspapers — can lead to longer bowel movements, increasing the risk of developing or worsening hemorrhoids.
5. Damages Knee Joints
While sitting on the toilet, the knees bear significant pressure. In squatting positions, the pressure on the knees can be up to eight times greater than when lying down.
6. Contributes to Cervical Spine Degeneration
The posture of leaning forward while using the toilet, combined with prolonged phone use, places extra strain on the cervical spine. This changes its natural curvature and can cause cervical spondylosis (degeneration of the cervical vertebrae).
7. Poor for the Lower Limbs
Sitting on the toilet for more than 15 minutes can cause immobility in the muscles, reduced circulation, swelling, and numbness in the legs. If prolonged, this habit may even lead to
8. Negative Effects on Mental Health
Using your phone in the toilet can also affect mental health. Excessive exposure to irrelevant information may reduce your brain’s ability to process useful data, leading to poor concentration and memory decline.
Final Recommendation
Health experts advise:
Do not stay in the toilet longer than 5 minutes.
For those with constipation: no more than 10 minutes.
For people with hemorrhoids: keep bowel movements even shorter.
Newly filed court documents show that former FBI Director James Comey wrote a 2016 note referencing “HRC plans to tie Trump” and “HRC health,” which investigators discovered earlier this year locked inside a long-unused FBI safe.
The handwritten note, dated September 26, 2016, was found by an internal review team in early 2025, according to new evidence in the Justice Department’s criminal case against Comey.
The note, written on FBI letterhead from Comey’s director’s desk, was dated just weeks before the 2016 election and 19 days after the CIA sent Comey an investigative referral regarding intelligence that Hillary Clinton’s campaign had approved a plan to link then-candidate Donald Trump to Russia.
Prosecutors allege that Comey later concealed this referral and other related materials, obstructing internal and congressional investigations.
A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicted Comey on September 25 on one count of making false statements and another of obstruction of justice.
The charges stem from alleged efforts to mislead investigators about the FBI’s handling of politically sensitive probes into both presidential candidates in the final months before the 2016 election.
According to the filings, the note was discovered inside Room 9582, a secure compartmented information facility (SCIF) at FBI headquarters that had not been accessed for years.
The internal team that located it was assigned to reform the bureau’s records and classification procedures following whistleblower complaints in early 2025.
The filing says the room was “seemingly unused” until a sudden burst of activity around the week of President Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.
The discovery of Comey’s note came alongside the original Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) — the CIA document that alerted the FBI in September 2016 to Clinton’s alleged campaign plan.
The team also recovered access logs showing that Room 9582 experienced an unusual increase in entries and data transfers during the days surrounding the presidential transition, raising questions about who entered the facility and what materials were handled.
The court record includes an internal memo from July 21, 2025, showing that the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit formally requested an investigation into the concealment or removal of documents related to both the Clinton and Trump inquiries.
The memo stated that the missing CIA referral had originally been stored in a filing closet adjacent to the FBI director’s office before being moved to Room 9582.
The documents also contradict Comey’s 2020 Senate testimony, in which he claimed no knowledge of the so-called “Clinton plan intelligence.” During a Judiciary Committee hearing on September 30, 2020, Comey said the allegation “doesn’t ring any bells with me.”
The newly filed exhibits also reference the discovery of five burn bags found on the floor of the same FBI secure facility.
Those bags reportedly contained hundreds of pages of documents related to Crossfire Hurricane, the bureau’s 2016 counterintelligence investigation into alleged Trump-Russia ties.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who ordered the internal review, confirmed the discovery in June and later authorized the declassification of several materials, including the previously unreleased classified appendix of the Durham Special Counsel Report.
The Justice Department filing describes the combination of hidden records, delayed disclosures, and handwritten notes as evidence of “a broader pattern of concealment” by senior FBI officials. It asserts that Comey’s notations “corroborate the existence of contemporaneous awareness of the Clinton plan intelligence and suggest an effort to obscure that awareness from oversight entities.”
Legal analysts say the handwritten note could prove significant in the government’s obstruction case, depending on whether prosecutors can demonstrate intent to conceal or destroy records. The filings suggest investigators are also reviewing whether others within the FBI knowingly participated in removing or sequestering materials related to both the Clinton email probe and the Trump-Russia investigation.
The DOJ filing concludes that “taken together, these records reinforce a fact pattern of alleged obstruction and broader conspiracy” within the upper levels of the FBI during the 2016 election period.
When the Ground Shakes and the Truth Trembles
At first, the headlines read like a standard disaster report: a powerful earthquake strikes Colombia, buildings fall, lives are lost. But as emergency crews dug through the rubble and eyewitness accounts surfaced, something didn’t sit right.
The destruction was undeniable—but so was the silence.
A Catastrophe That Raised Questions
On Thursday morning, central Colombia was rocked by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake centered near Villavicencio, a town nestled 80 kilometers southeast of Bogotá. The tremor lasted nearly 45 seconds—but the consequences will be felt for much longer.
In Bogotá, chaos erupted as part of a high-rise apartment tower crumpled, its concrete frame groaning before slumping sideways into a neighboring building. The image was surreal—steel supports snapped like twigs, balconies sheared off, air conditioners dangling over sidewalks now littered with brick and dust.
First responders arrived within minutes. The city’s fire department confirmed multiple fatalities and dozens injured, with a growing number feared trapped beneath the wreckage. Rescue teams worked against time, swarmed by the sound of sirens and the smell of concrete dust and scorched metal.
But in the background, a quieter narrative emerged—one that has raised more than a few eyebrows.
Too Many Coincidences, Too Little Clarity
Reports began circulating of unusual absences in the hours before the quake—maintenance teams not showing up, elevator services shut down without warning, and entire floors said to be “temporarily vacated” for undisclosed reasons.
Even more curious: government officials declined interviews, citing the “sensitive nature” of the investigation. Some residents claim they received anonymous alerts on social media urging them to avoid certain buildings.
And while authorities insist it was just a natural disaster, a growing number of locals aren’t convinced.
“It’s like someone knew this was coming,” said one resident who lived three blocks from the collapse. “But no one said anything—until it was too late.”
A Pattern of Silence
This isn’t the first time Colombians have felt the sting of disaster wrapped in bureaucracy. The partial collapse of the apartment complex mirrors other recent events in Latin America—where poor infrastructure, ignored warnings, and political red tape turned natural disasters into full-blown human catastrophes.
Could it simply be a failure of engineering? Or are we once again witnessing a dangerous blend of negligence and silence?
The Bigger Picture
As images of the leaning tower spread across social media, the tragedy has reignited calls for transparency in construction oversight, improved disaster preparedness, and accountability at every level of government.
But beyond the dust and headlines lies a deeper truth: when systems fail—whether structural, political, or ethical—people pay the price.
Final Reflection
What happened in Bogotá may seem like a freak accident. But for the survivors, the families of the lost, and the growing chorus of skeptics, it feels like something more calculated—or at least preventable. The ground shook for 45 seconds. The consequences will last far longer.
And as investigators sift through both rubble and records, one question lingers louder than the rest:
Was this truly an act of nature… or the result of human failure hidden in plain sight?