As a general rule we have become cleaner as a people. I wonder if anyone has graphed the curve of general cleanliness going back to the days where we lived outside and bathing basically didn’t happen, through when we slept on a bed of hay often with little critters feeding on us at night and we pooed in a bucket in the corner of the room, through the modern day where we have dry cleaning, little robots that clean our floors and antibacterial soap and Purell everywhere. Maybe I should check with that Dyson vacuum guy, I love that guy. I also think things should just work properly, Dyson guy. The thing is, even though we have now all these products to scrub ourselves and everything around us, there are many items that fall through the cracks, and we barely give them any thought. There are just some things people don’t wash very frequently or even at all, for example when was the last time you washed the gloves that keep your hands warm in the winter? People have gloves for years and never wash them one time despite all the things they touch while wearing them and all the things they touch without washing their hands before putting them on. There is plenty of data about bowling balls housing bacteria, but your gloves have everything you’ve touched both on the inside and outside, and by extension everything hundreds of other people, animals, and the germ factories we call children have touched as well. Come to think of it when is the last time you washed that big winter coat, or any jacket you wear from season to season that hasn’t gotten stained or something spilled on it? Could it be that the whole idea of people catching colds from the weather is a fallacy and they’re just getting sick from the filthy clothing they’re putting on to ward off the elements? What about other things people use day in and day out? How recently do people sanitize their keyboard or mouse, or glasses, or remotes and game controllers, or canes, crutches, wheelchairs, telephones, or any other devices that get used daily or several times a week? Personally I’m not overly worried about that kind of stuff, I think my immune system needs practice from time to time, but I do periodically clean my stuff, and I make sure to wash my hands after touching anything of anybody else’s that falls into the heavy use/doesn’t need to get cleaned category.

And cell phones… holy shit cell phones!