When you check into a hotel, ask for a short lesson about the bathroom. No two of these in Britain are the same. I usually have to look around for several minutes before I can figure out how to flush the toilet. And I can almost never operate the shower without instructions. I once had to get out of a shower in Oxford and go downstairs to ask the hotel receptionist how to turn it off. There is actually a postcard called The British Bathroom, with everything on it labeled to help tourists!