Turning off the Light

Yesterday I was at work, using the washroom when I noticed that the lightswitch had been taped in the 'on' position. What the heck? My first instinct was to take the tape off so I could turn the light off after using the bathroom, like I normally do. I really try to turn off unused lighting, and it is hard enough to do this at work without people taping lightswitches 'on.' But, I didn't tear the tape off. I thought maybe there was some valid reason it was taped that I just didn't know about.

Later in the day I went to the washroom again and the switch is still taped on. Well, this time I get up the nerve to take the tape off, and in the process the light switches off. I switch it back on and ....nothing. No light. Uh oh. But then, in a second, the light comes back on again. Whew! So I wondered: was the switch taped on just so someone didn't have to wait an extra second for the light to come on? Is that one second of darkness too high a price to pay for the energy saved by turning the light off when the space isn't being used? At first I got all judgemental, but then I realized that my first reaction was to rip the tape off immediately. Apparently I'm not as good as I could be at waiting either.