Microbiology Lessons for the Gross Reality We Live In (It's Science Time on Yin Yang)
I forget the statistics, but some large sum of human beings don't wash their hands after using the throne. If you are one of those people, I want you to consider the following.
When you use the bathroom, you are touching yourself in some way, shape or form. It doesn't matter if you just showered or not, the skin from your genitals, or undercarriage, as I like to call it, comes off on your hands. We, as humans, shed thousands of dead skin cells every day. On a little side note, during my cGMP training, I learned that if you lightly touch the back of your hand, thousands of dry dead skin cells "shoot" into the air and go off into the world to accumulate. Most people don't want to touch total strangers' genitals' "leavin'-ings" on the bathroom door, the sinks, or even the doors when leaving the rest rooms, especially when they are at a restaurant, so the next time you don't wash your hands, or just run them under water thinking that your hands are clean of your junk, I want you think of that one person who's "junk" you don't even want to see and imagine that on your hands while you are eating, or that matter, touching your own junk. This was a public service announcement.
Bacteria are ubiquitous; they live in you, around you, and on you. Many bacteria are harmless, some are harmful, but they are nonetheless necessary for our survival. That shouldn't, however, lead you to believe they should all be destroyed, nor does it mean that they should be left to grow out of control.
Next I have an argument for removing one's shoes at the door of a residence. After walking around outside for any amount of time, you will naturally share the variety of walking surfaces our world has to offer with many people of different lifestyles and occupations. Some of these occupations are working with filth (it's a dirty job but someone has to get handsomely paid to do it). You aren't going to be able to avoid sharing whatever bacteria is on some of these peoples' shoes, no matter how hard to you try. When you arrive home, you will have the microscopic feces of animals, food bits in various stages of decay, along with a myriad of other substances including, yes, bacteria, on your shoes transferred from the soles of those who traversed the dank, dark underworld. You may, at that time, want to remove your shoes at the door, so, for example, when your friend visits with his/her baby, who happens to crawl on all fours, the infant doesn't drag him/herself through that wonderful mixture, and being in a world of exploration at that age, happen to put hands in his/her mouth. Then again, we have immune systems for a reason, but that might not do the trick. Remember that time you sat on the floor and watched some t.v. with your hands on the carpet behind you. Dinner's ready! I hope you washed your hands. Oh, wait, you probably didn't want to remember that...
I will drag this out just a tiny bit more. Dial wants you to believe that you should be sterilizing everything - your hands, your house, even your children. This is, in fact, a very bad thing (well, it's impossible according to definition). Bacteria can multiply exponentially in even not-so-ideal conditions in a short amount of time. Intuitively, you want to destroy those mo-fo's as fast as possible, but truthfully, you shouldn't. Pending your beliefs, bacteria, due to this ability to rapidly multiply, have great evolutionary potential. The process of reproduction, although complex yet fine tuned, makes mistakes from time to time. Some of these genetic mistakes can code out genes of resistance for a vast array of things. One of those things is resistance to the chemicals in Dial soaps that is supposed to destroy them. This is actually old news, but washing your hands in regular soap and warm water for 30 seconds, will effectively clean your hands. No, it won't kill everything, but it does the trick.
When you use the bathroom, you are touching yourself in some way, shape or form. It doesn't matter if you just showered or not, the skin from your genitals, or undercarriage, as I like to call it, comes off on your hands. We, as humans, shed thousands of dead skin cells every day. On a little side note, during my cGMP training, I learned that if you lightly touch the back of your hand, thousands of dry dead skin cells "shoot" into the air and go off into the world to accumulate. Most people don't want to touch total strangers' genitals' "leavin'-ings" on the bathroom door, the sinks, or even the doors when leaving the rest rooms, especially when they are at a restaurant, so the next time you don't wash your hands, or just run them under water thinking that your hands are clean of your junk, I want you think of that one person who's "junk" you don't even want to see and imagine that on your hands while you are eating, or that matter, touching your own junk. This was a public service announcement.
Bacteria are ubiquitous; they live in you, around you, and on you. Many bacteria are harmless, some are harmful, but they are nonetheless necessary for our survival. That shouldn't, however, lead you to believe they should all be destroyed, nor does it mean that they should be left to grow out of control.
Next I have an argument for removing one's shoes at the door of a residence. After walking around outside for any amount of time, you will naturally share the variety of walking surfaces our world has to offer with many people of different lifestyles and occupations. Some of these occupations are working with filth (it's a dirty job but someone has to get handsomely paid to do it). You aren't going to be able to avoid sharing whatever bacteria is on some of these peoples' shoes, no matter how hard to you try. When you arrive home, you will have the microscopic feces of animals, food bits in various stages of decay, along with a myriad of other substances including, yes, bacteria, on your shoes transferred from the soles of those who traversed the dank, dark underworld. You may, at that time, want to remove your shoes at the door, so, for example, when your friend visits with his/her baby, who happens to crawl on all fours, the infant doesn't drag him/herself through that wonderful mixture, and being in a world of exploration at that age, happen to put hands in his/her mouth. Then again, we have immune systems for a reason, but that might not do the trick. Remember that time you sat on the floor and watched some t.v. with your hands on the carpet behind you. Dinner's ready! I hope you washed your hands. Oh, wait, you probably didn't want to remember that...
I will drag this out just a tiny bit more. Dial wants you to believe that you should be sterilizing everything - your hands, your house, even your children. This is, in fact, a very bad thing (well, it's impossible according to definition). Bacteria can multiply exponentially in even not-so-ideal conditions in a short amount of time. Intuitively, you want to destroy those mo-fo's as fast as possible, but truthfully, you shouldn't. Pending your beliefs, bacteria, due to this ability to rapidly multiply, have great evolutionary potential. The process of reproduction, although complex yet fine tuned, makes mistakes from time to time. Some of these genetic mistakes can code out genes of resistance for a vast array of things. One of those things is resistance to the chemicals in Dial soaps that is supposed to destroy them. This is actually old news, but washing your hands in regular soap and warm water for 30 seconds, will effectively clean your hands. No, it won't kill everything, but it does the trick.
posted by P-Wagz at 5:38 PM
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