Eww Germs!

[thehuckster]

The other day I was using one of those touchscreen point-of-sale terminal doodads that you swipe your debit card into. As I was pressing the softkeys on the screen an older lady approached me from behind and the following conversation ensued:

Woman: "That's disgusting! Do you know how many germs are on that thing?"
Me: "Uuuuuh..."
Woman: "You are putting your fingers on that machine that you can see is filled with marks already! What's wrong with you? You should use that pen thing!"
Me: "...you mean the stylus that a lot of other people also put germs on? It doesn't matter. Besides, I usually wash my hands after doing my errands anyways."
Woman: "Your funeral!"

Great rebuttal.

[Moosenogger]

If it's any consolation, she'll probably see her funeral before you do.

[dragon_wings]

I seem to be the only one at my store that'll clean the credit card machine as well as the main register keyboard. Recently I worked in cosmetics and the register keyboard was filthy.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Woman: "That's disgusting! Do you know how many germs are on that thing?"

Me: And I'm adding more germs to it. My hands are very dirty.

Woman: <runs away screaming>

Relevant comic, second one.

[PepperElf]

what, you mean the same germs that are on door handles, the toilet stall door, and ooo the public toilet sinks too. especially since people turn those on after they use the potty and wipe their asses.

i doubt a touch pad pen will kill you

unless someone stabs you in the brain with it...

[camjuniper]

Amazingly our hands are covered with this natural protection that keeps germs from entering directly into our bodies. It's called . . . skin.

Woman: Do you know how many germs are on that thing?
Me: S'all good. I've got epidermis.

[dragon_wings]

@camjuniper:

Wow! That's one of the best (and funniest) things I've heard in a while! You're so full of win!

[Ironclad Alibi]

i doubt a touch pad pen will kill you

unless someone stabs you in the brain with it...

Assuming they have a brain.

[Shalom]

what, you mean the same germs that are on door handles, the toilet stall door, and ooo the public toilet sinks too. especially since people turn those on after they use the potty and wipe their asses.:

Back in microbiology classes, our professor handed out Petri dishes with culture on them, and told us to go stick it on something on campus, then bring it back, incubate it and see what grew out. I stuck mine on the mouthpiece of the pay phone near the vending machines, and did in fact grow a few bacterial cultures (can't remember what). One guy, though, had this massive bacterial growth on his plate. You couldn't even see the agar.

Me: "Where in the hell did you..."
Him: "Flush handle."
Me:

But yeah, there were a bunch of folks in that class opening bathroom doors with a paper towel for a while after that.

[Kristev]

Remember, world, Lysol is your friend.

[Geek King]

Back in microbiology classes, our professor handed out Petri dishes with culture on them, and told us to go stick it on something on campus, then bring it back, incubate it and see what grew out.

Try getting a sample from a keyboard in the public computer lab. I dare you.

Aside: Am I the only one that remembers exposure to a certain amount of gems actually helps keep you healthy? Sheesh!

[Pixilated]

*snip*

Aside: Am I the only one that remembers exposure to a certain amount of gems actually helps keep you healthy? Sheesh!

One of a dwindling number, I think. The latest insanity in this 'create a germ-free world' is the soap dispenser that you don't have to touch to get it to release soap!

Now, during flu season I saw something like this in use at school and there it at least makes a little sense.

But the commercials I've seen show a smaller countertop version in operation in a home. So I'm guessing the members of this family never, ever, hug or -- gods forbid -- kiss (ew!) or come into physical contact in any way whatsoever, since they refuse to even touch a soap dispenser that some other family member has used ....

[siskaren]

But the commercials I've seen show a smaller countertop version in operation in a home. So I'm guessing the members of this family never, ever, hug or -- gods forbid -- kiss (ew!) or come into physical contact in any way whatsoever, since they refuse to even touch a soap dispenser that some other family member has used ....

What annoys me about that product is, what do you do immediately after touching a soap dispenser? You wash your hands!

[Jay 2K Winger]

Aside: Am I the only one that remembers exposure to a certain amount of gems actually helps keep you healthy? Sheesh!

I brought up this very concept to my mother last night.

The topic of conversation had been about how even healthy people can still die of sudden illness. She mentioned both of my grandmothers, who had been very healthy people all their lives, but had both contracted cancer (one got leukemia, the other a brain tumor) which led to their deaths. Meanwhile, my grandfathers-- especially my Mom's father-- had colds regularly and other minor illnesses, and my Mom's father is now 90 years old.

I told her something on the lines of "That's probably why they're still alive. Because their bodies are used to fighting off illness, their immune system is tougher than Grandma's, who never got sick until she got leukemia."

I also added, "It's probably why you'll outlive us all, too," which got a bit of a smile out of Mom, notorious for her frequent colds, bugs, and periodic cellulitis flare-ups.

[MoonCat]

I recall reading an article about somebody doing a study of a restroom at some company. They tested all the surfaces for germs. They found that there were way more germs on the surface of the sinks, the faucets, etc., than on the toilet seats, tanks or handles.