1 A seventh grader in Florida recently won her school science fair by proving there are more bacteria in ice machines at fast-food restaurants than in toilet bowl water.
2 NASA recently spent $23.4 million designing a toilet for the Space Shuttle that would defy zero gravity with suction technology at 850 liters of airflow per minute. That’s a lot of money for a toilet that sucks.
3 Dirtiest of all: University of Arizona researchers determined that television remotes are the worst carriers of bacteria in hospital rooms, worse even than toilet handles. Remotes spread antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus, which contributes to the 90,000 annual deaths from infection acquired in hospitals.
4 Not tonight dear, I just washed my hands: Antibacterial soap is no more effective at preventing infection than regular soap, and triclosan (the active ingredient) can mess with your sex hormones.
5 Some germs are good! A study of over 11,000 children determined that an overly hygienic environment increases the risk of eczema and asthma.
6 Monks of the Jain Dharma (a minority religion in India) are forbidden to bathe any part of their bodies besides the hands and feet, believing the act of bathing might jeopardize the lives of millions of microorganisms.
7 Ancient Egyptians and Aztecs rubbed urine on their skin to treat cuts and burns. Urea, a key chemical in urine, is known to kill fungi and bacteria.
8 In a small victory for cleanliness, England’s medieval King Henry IV required his knights to bathe at least once in their lives—during their ritual knighthood ceremonies.
9 That’s their excuse, anyway: Excrement dumped out of windows into the streets in 18th-century London contaminated the city’s water supply and forced locals to drink gin instead.
Adapted from Discover Magazine.
The human body is home to some 1,000 species of bacteria. There are more germs on your body than people in the United States.
- Peter Rost, M.D. is a former VP of Pfizer and the author of Killer Drug and The Whistleblower.
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