I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is flushed.
didn't i hear of a study that proved that?
like another reason to put the lid down.
Patriotism is supporting your country all
the time and the government when it deserves it.
-Mark Twain

"veteran" wrote in message
...
I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is flushed.
didn't i hear of a study that proved that?
like another reason to put the lid down.
Patriotism is supporting your country all
the time and the government when it deserves it.
-Mark Twain

LOL, this reminds me of the old urban legend/internet hoax about the
"arachnid gluteus" or some such. Butt spiders lol
They changed the name of the spiders in the chain letter in recent years, to
one that lives in the rainforest. Supposedly they hide out under toilet
seats at the Olive Garden. hehe
lucy

"veteran" wrote in message
...
I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is flushed.
didn't i hear of a study that proved that?
like another reason to put the lid down.
Patriotism is supporting your country all
the time and the government when it deserves it.
-Mark Twain

I believe the Japanese have on the market a toilet that backflushes the
smell (my paraphrase). Is not smell made up of molecules/bacteria (or
whatever)?
I think one could find this scientific evidence somewhere -- perhaps this is
not the best place to get scientific advise. [:-}

I have a friend who spent some time in Osaka teaching .. and according to
him, there are not that many toilets in the rather semi-private restrooms,
and some are merely holes in the floor one is supposed to squat over. heh
Interesting tho..
lucy

"Dee Randall" deedoveyatshenteldotnet wrote in message
...

"veteran" wrote in message
...
I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is flushed.
didn't i hear of a study that proved that?
like another reason to put the lid down.
Patriotism is supporting your country all
the time and the government when it deserves it.
-Mark Twain

I believe the Japanese have on the market a toilet that backflushes the
smell (my paraphrase). Is not smell made up of molecules/bacteria (or
whatever)?
I think one could find this scientific evidence somewhere -- perhaps this
is not the best place to get scientific advise. [:-}

In article ,
veteran wrote:

I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is
flushed. didn't i hear of a study that proved that? like another
reason to put the lid down.

snip

bwahahahaha:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990416.html

"In 1975 Professor Gerba published a scientific article describing the
little-known phenomenon of bacterial and viral aerosols due to toilet
flushing. The more you learn about it, the scarier it sounds. According
to Gerba, close-up photos of the germy ejecta look like "Baghdad at
night during a U.S. air attack." The article ominously depicts a "floor
plan of experimental bathroom with location of gauze pads for viral
fallout experiments." A lot of virus fell on those gauze pads, Gerba
found, and a lot of bacteria too. In fact, significant quantities of
microbes floated around the bathroom for at least two hours after each
flush.

"As Professor Gerba's research would later determine, however, the
bathroom was hardly the most dangerous part of the house, microbe-wise.
The real pesthole: the kitchen sponge or dishcloth, where fecal
coliform bacteria from raw meat and such could fester in a damp,
nurturing (for a germ) environment. Next came the kitchen sink, the
bathroom sink, and the kitchen faucet handle. The toilet seat was the
least contaminated of 15 household locales studied. "If an alien came
from space and studied the bacterial counts," the professor says, "he
probably would conclude he should wash his hands in your toilet and
crap in your sink.""

"veteran" wrote in message
...
I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is flushed.
didn't i hear of a study that proved that?
like another reason to put the lid down.
Patriotism is supporting your country all
the time and the government when it deserves it.
-Mark Twain

This is Turtle.

I seen this on Myth Busters Show and it does show that some water or bateria can
travel to the other items in the bathroom when flushing a towlet. So shut the
lid when flushing the towlet.

TURTLE

In article ,
veteran wrote:

I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is flushed.
didn't i hear of a study that proved that?

I heard about a recent study on the radio that pretty much debunked
that. Tooothbrushes were left in various rooms in the house and the
ones in the bathroom were among the cleanest.

If you want to worry about bacteria, look at your kitchen sink and your
dish cloth.

If an alien were deciding on how to use the average house by doing
bacteria cultures, it would prepare food in the bathroom and crap in
your kitchen sink.

In article .ca,
Dave Balderstone wrote:

In article ,
veteran wrote:

I have heard that bacteria can travel 10 feet when the toilet is flushed.
didn't i hear of a study that proved that?

I heard about a recent study on the radio that pretty much debunked
that. Tooothbrushes were left in various rooms in the house and the
ones in the bathroom were among the cleanest.

There are several studies that show the effect to be real. Here are just
few provided by Google:

The following URL is the result of a Hong Kong study prompted by the
idea that flushing uncovered toilets could spread SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome). Scientists placed fluorescent dye in the toilet,
flushed it and shined a black light to see if there was any basis to the
notion. Go here to actually *see* the aerosol effect of flushing toilets:

http://www.ust.hk/~webiesd/Project.h...%20during%20to
ilet%20flushing

The next link is the story of a Bryn Mawr biology student's surprise
when she looked into the matter, which she always considered a silly
myth. On her website you can find links to the original study published
by Charles Gerba, a Univ. of Arizona environmental microbiologist. She
gives perhaps more information on the subject than you might want to
know (such as, it isn't just bacteria, it's virii and fungi, too; and
they can hang around in the air for as long as two hours after each
flush; and that hot air hand dryers are MUCH more unsanitary than paper
towels--they *increase* airborne bacteria levels 162% on average while
paper towels reduce handborne microbes by 29%):

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f02/web2/stan.html

Here's more info on the possibility of spreading SARS by flushing--from
a project of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services:

http://www.4woman.gov/News/English/518500.htm


If you want to worry about bacteria, look at your kitchen sink and your
dish cloth.

This was Charles Gerba's conclusion, too. As a matter of fact...


If an alien were deciding on how to use the average house by doing
bacteria cultures, it would prepare food in the bathroom and crap in
your kitchen sink.

....you can read this view almost word-for-word in Gerba's 1975 published
report, although Gerba was comparing the relatively low infection
potential of an average toilet seat with the teeming petri-dish
conditions of an average kitchen sink, which Gerba found often to
maintain absolutely stunning levels of human coliform bacteria,
including e-coli strains. That's why the alien would think it was
supposed to eliminate in the kitchen sink.

Best advice: close the seat--remarkably, one of the most sanitary
surfaces in most bathrooms--and its cover before flushing and wash your
hands well afterward, especially when using public restrooms (many of
which have no seat covers).

Oh, and store your toothbrush °inside* the medicine cabinet.