Silliest Theory of the Week (Plus Bonus Thoughts!)

Noting that germ-killing products are all the rage, Allen Salkin in the New York Times (link) present us with an example of journalists scrabbling to find an angle to an otherwise boring story.

Why are so many people buying (questionably effective) lotions, creams, water ionizers, UV wands, and other weapons of mini destruction?

Is it because people don’t want to get sick? Because they hear about diseases spreading through the air, water, and handles of doors?

According to Salkin, maybe it’s that people just want to have control over their lives. People aren’t necessarily worried about the flu as much as they’re worried about the “dangerous, out-of-control world” we live in.

This explain why people are especially concerned about germs on planes and subways. Because that’s where terrorists might strike! That’s where we feel the biggest need to control the uncontrollable.

Uh huh. I’d like to suggest an alternative theory: Maybe people are especially conscious of germs on planes and subways because that’s where all the other people are. All the sneezing, coughing people who don’t wash their hands. Not terrorists. Just folks.

And now for the previously advertised BONUS THOUGHTS!

I’ve noticed a lot of people using those germ-killing gels in an odd way. They reach for them in the kitchen, or after using the office bathroom, rather than using the sink and soap. They’d rather leave bacteria carcasses on their hands than wash the live bacteria off.

Of course, I’m not being exactly fair. Those gels do a better job of killing bacteria than simple soap and water do of removing them (link). But still, the CDC recommends gels as way to get clean when you can’t wash for some reason, and every test says that if your hands are visibly dirty, you need to wash them, not gel them.

I guess the way to get really clean is to wash, then gel, then boil your hands. For me, I stick to the washing unless I’m stuck without a sink. Warm, soapy water and agitation for 30 seconds or so. Feels nice, too. And it has nothing to do with terrorism.

6 Responses to Silliest Theory of the Week (Plus Bonus Thoughts!)

  1. BruceS November 16, 2006 at 11:19 am #

    And here I thought you were going to *propose*, not *expose* a silly theory.
    I use both soap-and-water and the gels. For cleanliness, I wash thoroughly with soap and water. Nowadays (for reasons you know), much more than normally. In my car, I keep gel just in case, and also use it sometimes to sanitize after washing. I took enough microbio to know the futility of most attempts at sterilization, so I don’t fool myself too much about it. I also have done a bit of home brewing. “What?” you ask, “how is *that* relavent?”. Well, I’ll tell you. For best brewing results, you want all the equipment as sterile as practicable. To do this, we use both a cleanser and a sanitizer. The cleanser removes both the unwanted organisms and their food. The sanitizer kills anything missed by the cleanser.
    And through all my cleaning of hands, counters, brewing implements, etc., I just don’t worry about terrorists.

  2. weeklyrob November 17, 2006 at 2:30 pm #

    Well, in the bonus thoughts, I did suggest boiling the hands. Can we use that as my silly proposal? I hate the thought of disappointing one of my 3 or 4 readers.

  3. BruceS November 17, 2006 at 3:26 pm #

    That reminds me of the old joke about the hardest part of breast-feeding.

  4. Jeffrey December 1, 2006 at 10:23 pm #

    First, Bruce: ouch.

    Second: check out this site: coughsafe.com and be sure you watch the video.

    Third: I don’t worry much about whether my hands are clean other than when I’m about to eat. I always wash after going to the bathroom, but that’s really on behalf of people who use doorknobs after I do, not for myself. For me, though, I admit I’ve often taken the CDC’s advice about opening the bathroom door with a paper towel.

    Rob, remember Lynn? She used to tell me the dirtiest spot was the bathroom door handle.

  5. Jeffrey December 1, 2006 at 10:24 pm #

    Here’s a live link, assuming the blog recognizes it:
    http://coughsafe.com/

  6. Jeffrey December 1, 2006 at 11:07 pm #

    Okay, I reread what I wrote and I should’ve said that washing after going to the bathroom is for both me and folks who come after me.

    But I’m not carrying around sanitizer all the time.

    Would love to be able to edit comments. 🙂

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