Researchers Find Average Desk Harbors 400 Times More Bacteria Than Average Toilet Seat

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=40596

I'm not suprised.  How often do you clean your work area compared to your bathroom?  I guess for some it might be about the same (for better or worse).  But for me, I rarely clean the work surface in my cube - maybe once every 3 months or so.  Just a simple cleaning spray and a paper towel can do the trick, and it's disgusting what you'll find that gets mopped up off of your work surface. 

Perhaps one of the more eye-opening sentences in that article was this one:

“The area where you rest your hand on your desk has – on average – 10 million bacteria”

We also have a foosball table in our office that gets used by many people throughout the day.  I make a habit of washing my hands after every game I play on it...  scary to think of how much bacteria is on those foosball table handles after a work day. 

Anyway - I'm not paranoid about bacteria.  The article was just interesting.  We can't avoid germs all the time, and a person could obsess every second of the day about trying to keep clean.  It's just not reasonable.  Plus, the human body has an immune system that can defend against most of this stuff.  But paying attention to keeping things clean from time to time and washing your hands can at least keep you from catching a cold, which to me is worthwhile. 

“Ok, thanks for the lecture dad.  Can I get back to work now?”