The Worst Is Yet to Come
A tongue-in-cheek catalogue of what to worry about in an age when Americans have objectively never been so safe.
” Our understandable fear of outsize disasters is matched, oddly enough, by an equally paralyzing terror of the microscopic. American germophobia has only intensified in recent years, as we can see from the sudden ubiquity of hand sanitizers. Messrs. Beard and Cerf gleefully fan the flames of our paranoia. Toilets, flushing of: You’d do well to keep the seat down when engaging in this hazardous activity, because toilet water and all its contents are vaporized by the flushing action and settle upon everything in your bathroom—including your toothbrush. A lovely hot bath turns out to be, according to a scientist at NYU Medical Center, a foul stew of pathogens, with up to 100,000 bacteria per square inch. But showers are not much better—they distribute the scary Mycobacterium avium. And your kitchen is even yuckier than your bathroom! Dishwashers carry fungi on the rubber band in the door. Kitchen sinks: According to one scientist consulted by the authors, “if an alien came from space and studied bacteria counts in the typical home, he would probably conclude he should wash his hands in the toilet, and pee in your sink.” Sponges: Their “damp, porous environment serves as a perfect breeding ground in which the microbes can flourish and multiply until there are literally billions of them.” Cutting boards—let’s not even go there. “
Related articles
- Can You Catch Germs From a Public Toilet Seat? (everydayhealth.com)
- Smart phone bacteria test: Do you know what’s growing on your phone? (kdvr.com)
- How dirty are toilet seats? (bbc.co.uk)
- Alert!!! Mobile Phones Have More Bacteria Than a Toilet Seat! (dangerouslee.biz)
