Why A Toilet Is a Better Desk Than Your Desk

from the just-to-be-safe-don't-eat-off-your-phone dept

Tue, May 2nd 2006 11:19am — Joseph Weisenthal

There have been numerous studies about the surprising places that germs are found. Once again experts are warning that objects like doorknobs pale in comparison to mobile phones and keyboards when it comes to germ load, while a typical desk, they claim, is more germ infested than a toilet seat. The conclusion is that people who consider themselves careful about germs, by flipping up a public toilet seat with their foot for example, have their fears misplaced. But what all of these studies leave out is whether people who fail to abide by proper germ prevention techniques actually get sick more often. Do teenagers who chat on cell phones and then pass it off to a friend actually have a higher rate of the flu? Do people who go to cybercafes actually come down with colds more frequently? Perhaps, there's more to it than the simple equation of more germs equals more sickness. Still, just in case, you might want to pick up a sterilizing phone charger.

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37 Comments

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Sofa King Stoned, 2 May 2006 @ 12:08pm

Keyboard vs. Toilet Seat
Sure, my keyboard may be germier than a toilet seat, but the germs on the keyboard are from MY hands, not OTHER PEOPLE'S ASS.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 May 2006 @ 12:16pm

i could not have put it better myself, well done
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Jeremiah, 2 May 2006 @ 12:22pm

Bolster the immune system
Sickness is not simply an end result - often the body will develop antibodies and other immunity-related compounds in reaction to exposure to "other people's asses." In the long run, I bet a case could be made that all that contact with other people's keyboards and mice (i speak of IT support) actually makes you more resilient to infection.

IMHO.
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Mikester, 2 May 2006 @ 1:00pm

Re: Bolster the immune system
Exactly. By trying to live in a bubble and "sterile" environment, we only weaken our immune systems and truly impair our ability to fend off the real threats.
That is why I refuse to get the flu shot.
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Shruti, 2 May 2006 @ 1:10pm

There's actually been a study done about that. A group of grad students' social networks were mapped, then they were infected with the common cold virus. Students with bigger networks were less likely to develop a cold because they had stronger immune systems
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ChocoTuar, 2 May 2006 @ 1:12pm

Re: Re: Bolster the immune system
You are one of the people who "ha[s] their fears misplaced."

The flu shot injects a small amount of the virus into your bloodstream so that you build up an immunity. In no way does it make you any weaker.
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ChocoTuar, 2 May 2006 @ 1:14pm

Re:
How old were these kids? Or, more pertinently, how long have they had a "big" network? I'd bet money that in the beginning of the "network" they got sick more than would have at the time the test was taken. The beginning was probably more sickening than a "loner"'s could ever be.
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Howard, 2 May 2006 @ 1:17pm

Shades of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
So we need a new class of worker -- "telephone sanitizers".
Seriously, one of the most effective, simple-minded, and inexpensive ways to avoid most communicable disease is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water several times a day.
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Posterlogo, 2 May 2006 @ 1:20pm

Re: Re:
"How old were these kids? Or, more pertinently, how long have they had a "big" network? I'd bet money that in the beginning of the "network" they got sick more than would have at the time the test was taken. The beginning was probably more sickening than a "loner"'s could ever be."

Not true at all. So very very wrong. You don't have to get sick to build up immunity. The idea is to get EXPOSURE to mild amounts of many antigens when you are young. This is most dramatically illustrated in the case of parents who are too strict and sterile with their kids -- they inevitable develop asthma and allergies. Some of it is hereditary, but a great deal of it has to do with being allowed to play in the dirt a little. Pets too -- kids who are raised with atleast 1 pet have a 25-50% lower chance of getting asthma than those raised without pets.
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Scottitude, 2 May 2006 @ 1:23pm

Re: Keyboard vs. Toilet Seat
...unless you shook hands with someone who didn't wash their hands after wiping their ass; then your keyboard has other people's ass sweat and perhaps, fecal matter on it, just like a toilet seat.
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Tyshaun, 2 May 2006 @ 1:23pm

Re: Bolster the immune system
Sickness is not simply an end result - often the body will develop antibodies and other immunity-related compounds in reaction to exposure to "other people's asses." In the long run, I bet a case could be made that all that contact with other people's keyboards and mice (i speak of IT support) actually makes you more resilient to infection.

IMHO.

Kind of sort of. The primary problem with your statement is that viruses mutate very quickly and bacteria mutate rapidly as well.

Working as a paramedic for 8 years I can tell you that it's more of a function of the individual. Some people have very fast acting immune systems and hardly ever get sick, some are cursed. I had a partner who was sick all the time and ended up quitting because she just couldn't be around people with communicable diseases. Me, I caught one case of the flu in my 8 years as a medic and that's only because my patient insisted on shaking my hands after I had taken my gloves off.
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Whateva, 2 May 2006 @ 1:24pm

Re: Re: Bolster the immune system
"Exactly. By trying to live in a bubble and "sterile" environment, we only weaken our immune systems and truly impair our ability to fend off the real threats.
That is why I refuse to get the flu shot."

Dear Mikester -- congratulations. You are so much smarter than the rest of us. You seem to think the flu shot helps people live in a "bubble and sterile environment." You couldn't be more wrong. The flu shot IS the germ. You are taking a small dose of (inactivated) germs to help build your immunity when that big dose arrives. But please, get your resistance the hard way and save the flu shot for the rest of us. Thanks!
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dorpus, 2 May 2006 @ 1:32pm

Re: Re: Re:
Not true at all. So very very wrong. You don't have to get sick to build up immunity. The idea is to get EXPOSURE to mild amounts of many antigens when you are young. This is most dramatically illustrated in the case of parents who are too strict and sterile with their kids -- they inevitable develop asthma and allergies.

The proper term here would be "inevitably", though it would still be wrong. What you are referring to is the hygiene hypothesis, which claims that kids growing up in antiseptic environment are at INCREASED RISK of developing asthma and allergies. However, there are just as many studies which show that kids exposed to certain kinds of bacteria or viruses are at increased risk of asthma/allergy themselves. Variants of the theory talk about the lack of diversity in gut flora. There is no consensus among scientists on how the hygiene hypothesis works, if it works at all.

Some of it is hereditary, but a great deal of it has to do with being allowed to play in the dirt a little.

However, there are many studies which show that certain kinds of mycobacteria (microbes that live in the soil) INCREASE the risk of allergies/asthma.

Pets too -- kids who are raised with atleast 1 pet have a 25-50% lower chance of getting asthma than those raised without pets.

Here also, the results are contradictory. About half the scientific papers out there say that pets INCREASE allergies, while another half say it doesn't. Most allergists recommend that allergy patients get rid of their pets.
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SPR, 2 May 2006 @ 1:36pm

Toilet Experts
I think the experts who came up with this have too much time on their hands, among other things!!
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BigMeanDog, 2 May 2006 @ 1:38pm

Keyboard vs. Toilet Seat
Exactly Sofa King Stoned!!! I'd rather touch keyboards than stale remnants of urination and defecation. Nasty!!!! And I do use my foot to prop up the toilet seat. And if I can help it at all...I go home to my own throne.
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Mikester, 2 May 2006 @ 1:39pm

Re: Re: Re: Bolster the immune system
Thanks - gee, I didn't realize I was actually getting INJECTED with the flu!
Listen brainiacs, the flu shot is a farce anyway. It is only a sample of the top flus going around the previous year. You better hope those same strains are still going around when you get the shot, other wise it's all for nothing.
By letting your own immune system fight it off naturally, you're doing your body a service by building it up the proper way.
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BigMeanDog, 2 May 2006 @ 1:44pm

Keyboard vs. Toilet Seat
But I do pick my ass while typing...but it's my ass and it's wonderful
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^ idiot, 2 May 2006 @ 1:49pm

admit it
just admit you're wrong and dont try to cover it up or you'll look like a bigger idiot than you already are
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Smuckfumaster, 2 May 2006 @ 1:52pm

Re: Shades of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Sounds better than an 'ass sanitizer'.
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Nathan, 2 May 2006 @ 1:56pm

Kick it up
Seriously, I just use my foot to lift up the toilet seat because it's more often than not covered with other guy's piss and splash-back because they were to damn lazy to lift it up. A lifetime in the public school system has taught me that there's not much that piss won't get onto, be it on purpose or accidentally.
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BigMeanDog, 2 May 2006 @ 2:04pm

Keyboard vs. Toilet Seat
And if you go around life avoiding "germs" , be aware, insects and animals crap on everything as well. For example, I have a large male carpenter bee that guards my back door. As you watch him fly around, he craps all over the place. I have chosen not to eradicate him since he runs off everything else that craps including birds. One crapper is better than a group of em. So remember that the next time you leave your grill brush outside on the table.
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stone, 2 May 2006 @ 2:11pm

Re: Shades of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
wash your hands? really? nah!
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Evey, 2 May 2006 @ 2:34pm

Re:
I had two dogs, definitely got dirty, and still have asthma and allergies. Did I just get the shaft?

Washing your hands and keeping them off your face helps immensely.
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bmac (profile), 2 May 2006 @ 2:39pm

At least I feel better...
...when I see all of the people who never wash their hands at all. You can say that the handle on the bathroom door is cleaner than my keyboard, but after I've watched yet another person (usually old and rich) handle their wang or wipe their arse crack and walk directly out of the restroom without washing, it just feels better to open the door with a clean napkin. And, unless it's an emergency, I don't ever do number 2 at work.

Lastly on the subject of flu shots: I got one for the first time ever at the start of last winter, and I got the worst flu I've had in years, which turned into pneumonia. I'll never get it again.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 May 2006 @ 3:32pm

I have allergies but it seems after a while of being exposed to something my body just gets used to it...
Like whenever I would visit my friends house her rabbit would always make me sneeze and my eyes water and everything else, now that it lives here it stopped bothering me after a couple weeks.

I've never gotten a flu shot and the only time I can ever remember having the flu was about 7 years ago (I was 11 then, and I was super sick but haven't had it since).

And it doesn't really matter HOW MANY germs are on something, it matters how harmful they are to a person. For instance your significant others mouth probably contains a shitload of bacteria, but do you make them sanitize their mouth everytime before you kiss them?
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IraM, 2 May 2006 @ 3:49pm

This is a falacy
A toilet seat has YOUR germs on it. My desk has MY germs on it. I already have MY germs. Please keep yours to yourself! Regards, Ira
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Derickonfire, 2 May 2006 @ 4:21pm

Re: Re: Bolster the immune system
But isn't a flu shot actually just dosing you with the actual flu, which is basically exposing you to the flu, but in a controlled way?
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eskayp, 2 May 2006 @ 10:27pm

Immune, or not.
And if your job is at a wastewater treatment plant?
After the initial round of exposure, you seldom get sick from flu, colds, or any of the other 'nuisance' diseases that plague mankind.
Every shift is a new set of free innoculations against whatever
is making it's rounds in society.
Still have to watch out for (and get medically innoculated against)
the traditional 'killer' diseases: typhoid, hepatitis, tetanus, etc.
And be real careful about needle sticks or other breaches of your skin.
One question:
Does this continual 'priming' of the immune system have a longterm cost?
Do decades of daily exposure eventually lead to immune system failure?
Food for thought -- just don't eat it near your keyboard.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2006 @ 5:21am

Re: Re: Re: Bolster the immune system
"But please, get your resistance the hard way and save the flu shot for the rest of us."

That's exactly what I do, but not because I don't "believe" in the flu shot, but because there is typically a shortage of shots and my 36-year-old body is much better able to fight off minor infections than would be a 76-year-old's who might NEED my dose. Then again, in a world where everyone has the shot, my added protection from the shot is pretty small. Hmm...is this an example of *negative* network externalities? Cool.
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eb, 3 May 2006 @ 7:52am

Flu Shots
If you get sick after your flu shot, you probably got a vaccine made with "live" virus. Most vaccines these days are made with "dead" virus and do not make people sick. However, I believe the "live" shots are cheaper, which could be why some institutions give them to employees, etc.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Jan 2007 @ 11:29am

well ur ass is cleaner than your hands cuz the outside of ur ass which touches the bowl touches nothing but underwear

and unless u shit in ur pants it cleaner than ur hands
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mandy, 21 Jan 2007 @ 4:16pm

Re: Keyboard vs. Toilet Seat
where have your hands been try to think before you say!!
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unknown, 15 Feb 2007 @ 8:26pm

how
Exactly how are cell phones, keyboards, ect. more sanitary then a toilet?
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Randy, 12 Jun 2008 @ 10:57pm

Re: This is a falacy
I don't think so. There are a lot of articles out there in particular do a google search for What's Crawling Under Your Fingers While You Type. What's Crawling Under Your Fingers While You Type Just my two cents..
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Randy, 12 Jun 2008 @ 10:57pm

Re: This is a falacy
I don't think so. There are a lot of articles out there in particular do a google search for What's Crawling Under Your Fingers While You Type. What's Crawling Under Your Fingers While You Type Just my two cents..
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Aug 2008 @ 12:32pm

I love germs, they make our immune system stronger!!!!!!!!
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injection molding, 5 May 2009 @ 7:57am

we intend to take full advantage of them!
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