Since H1N1 is the subjet du jour, I thought this topic apposite.
I hate to shake hands, as I have no idea whether or not I'm making physical contact with a hand which has recently made contact with an anus, genitals, or nose phlegm. The cold virus contaminates the hand as a result of nose blowing, covering sneezes, and touching the nose. We should nod or bow instead.
My mother warned me every time I rode off on my bike to the Rexall Drug store never to buy the loose candy - "it must be wrapped" she would caution. They still sell the loose candy with a scoop which children ignore as they stick in their grubby little mitts.
I'm perplexed why persons bathe at night. Don't they know we perspire while we sleep (sweat represents one third of our body waste) and that most of us usually have a bowel movement after a coffee and food in the morning? So why put on clean clothes over a 12 hour old skin? I get up, vacate my bowels, wash myself; then, put on fresh clothes. It seems the correct order to me.
Clinical studies have revealed that those ineffective hand dryers in public restrooms are very effective in blowing bacteria (thriving in these dens of humidity infected with airborne faecal matter and urine) directly into our faces. In a similar vein, studies substantiate what I have long found repulsive which is that the common practice of suspending tooth brushes in such an environment in our homes is extremely unhygienic.
I am surprised by the convoluted logic of fitness centres regarding the wiping down of equipment. One is usually obliged to wipe down aerobic machines using antiseptic sprays while at the other end of the gym, where the weights are located, no such practice is required.
What's wrong with these dog lovers? Don't they know a dog spends 90 percent of its life licking its anus and genitals and the other 10 percent trying to lick your face? Dogs consider dried cat turds a crunchy delicacy and dog owners bend over to be bathed by their dog's tongue? While on the subject of tongues, the human mouth is a cesspool. The labia is cleaner than the lips.
We have known for years that wood cutting boards breed Salmonella and E coli and yet these planks are still sold all over the world - in some very posh shops.
One thing I am delighted to know is that sitting on a public toilet seat is not as dangerous a proposition as my imagination led me to believe, which probably accounts for the disappearance of those silly banners surrounding hotel toilet seats guaranteeing sterilisation for our safety. How does one exit a public toilet without recontaminating oneself? We turn the faucet on and wash our hands only to turn the filthy faucet off. Then, we head for the door and turn the filthy door knob to go back out into the world to shake some hands. Alcohol wipes solve this dilema. Remember that it takes a minimum of 15 minutes for alcohol to kill bacteria.
I saw a documentary on hotel cleaning staff. A hidden camera witnessed staff using the customary rubber gloves to clean the toilet bowl; then, go directly to the bathroom and instead of taking away the used glasses to be washed in a dishwasher, she (with the filthy gloves still on) rinsed and dried them and put them back on the shelf. These were expensive hotels. I always clean my hotel glasses before use.
So, be mindful and should you meet up with persons at parties this festive season and instinctively extend the hand of friendship, you may have more than you reckoned in your hand - which is why it is also called the "Flu Season".