April 11th, 2006
Licking your Toilet Seat is Healthier than Typing on your Keyboard
By Yan Fortin
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
According to this study funded by Clorox, keyboards have 265 times more bacteria on them than a toilet seat. I’m pretty lucky that I’m not a hypochondriac because I’d probably be turning quite mad after reading this. Surprisingly, toilet seats had the lowest level of bacteria of the 12 surfaces tested in this study.
“We don’t think twice about eating at our desks, even though the average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet,” Gerba said. “Without cleaning, a small area on your desk or phone can sustain millions of bacteria that could potentially cause illness.” Source: MarketWire
We Say: So, anyone feeling sick right now?
Alice Adds: I am! But if you want more germ tech, try these:
–Internet Cafe Mice More Germ-Laden Than Toilet Doorknobs
–Ice Machines Contain More Bacteria Than Toilet Bowl Water
–Ultimate Toilet Seat < --Hilarious
ed3 says:
Mythbusters Episode 12
As a side test to their “Toothbrush Surprise”, they did an experiment on the myth that a human’s mouth has more bacteria than a dog’s. Not only does the human mouth have more than a dog, but there’s less bacteria in a [clean] toilet than in a human or dog’s mouth.
I still wouldn’t drink out of a toilet…
April 11th, 2006 at 11:11 am
Alice says:
Would you use a dog’s toothbrush?
April 11th, 2006 at 11:29 am
David Johnston says:
Penn & Teller also did an episode of Bullshit on this topic. Of the four of five people they tested, they all had cleaner (or at least as clean) rear-ends than hands or faces. They also interviewed a doctor who said that toilet seats are an inhospitable environment for germs because they get cold and (hopefully) stay dry.
April 11th, 2006 at 11:44 am
Bill M says:
In addition to the lower temperature, toilets are cleaned with some very hostile chemicals. I bet there are fewer bacteria in a cup of chlorine bleach than in a cup of milk. I prefer to drink the milk, thanks.
April 11th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
How To Hack Google Analytics
Alice Hill of RealTechNews writes: I wish I could say RealTechNews used Google Analytics, but our invitation must still be lost in the mail. That said, a smart guy named Terril Dent stumbled across a little issue with Google Analytics that skewed the t…
April 11th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
John says:
“The average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet.”
From this quote, it looks to me as if the kitchen table also has 4 times the bacteria a toilet has!
April 11th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Nico says:
I just saw on TV last night (South African News) that a study found that there was a rise in respiratory disease and one of the conclusions was that our immune system does not have enough to do anymore (because of healthier, cleaner living) and therefore can’t handle when confronted with some of the allergy causing bacteria, eventually leading to asthma or other problems. Now I may have quoted a bit incorrectly, but that is how I got the story. Just some useless info…
April 11th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
jfb3 says:
So Clorox funds a study that says “There are Viruses on your keyboard so wipe it off with Clorx brand wipes and you’ll probably be healthier.”.
Is this any different than any other company funded study? Nope. Do they mention the *types* of bacteria? Nope. Do they mention that your skin is always loaded with bacteria? Nope.
This is just like if Symantec said “Look out, there are Viruses that target your computer, but our product can protect you against them.”. Oh, wait they do…
Lots of FUD, or at least lots of the F, pitched to appeal to the modern fear of all things virus. (The mere mention of which drives most people to fits these days.)
The article is carefully worded to appear like it’s an informational, helpful, article for public benefit. It’s an advertisement. One of the modern, straight-from-Madison-Ave, seems-like-a-public-service, lawyerly-worded, but still and advertisement.
April 12th, 2006 at 2:30 am
Federal Duck says:
So…if you’re eating lunch while using your laptop on the toilet, does it all cancel each other out, or just mean you’re a total freak?
April 12th, 2006 at 5:27 am
MissingFrame says:
So how is this anything more than an advertisement for Clorox Disinfecting Wipes?
April 12th, 2006 at 6:55 am
sesmqcsaxh says:
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June 21st, 2007 at 5:28 am
Vista On Current Events says:
Which is cleaner?…
1) A keyboard or toilet seat?
According to this in Real Tech News.
“We don’t think twice about eating at our desks, even though the average des……
November 2nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm