April 3, 2007 10:47 AM
- Text
Katie Couric's Notebook: Germ Warfare
Hi everyone.
So which do you think is dirtier: your desktop, or a toilet seat? And whose offices have more germs: men's or women's?
When it comes to cleanliness, you might be surprised.
University of Arizona Microbiology Professor Charles Gerba says most "desktops have about 400 times more germs than toilet seats--because janitors never touch them."
He also found that women had more germs on their telephones, computer keyboards, and pens than men, who outdid them only on the desktops themselves.
Women had seven times more mold around their desk drawers -- because women keep more food at the office.
Women are also more likely to care for sick family members, and carry germs to work.
But the fairer gender is still the cleaner gender in one respect: Believe it or not, the single dirtiest item at the office is a man's wallet.
I don't even want to think about why.
That's a page from my notebook.
Video: So which do you think is dirtier: your desktop, or a toilet seat? And whose offices have more germs: men's or women's?
When it comes to cleanliness, you might be surprised.
University of Arizona Microbiology Professor Charles Gerba says most "desktops have about 400 times more germs than toilet seats--because janitors never touch them."
He also found that women had more germs on their telephones, computer keyboards, and pens than men, who outdid them only on the desktops themselves.
Women had seven times more mold around their desk drawers -- because women keep more food at the office.
Women are also more likely to care for sick family members, and carry germs to work.
But the fairer gender is still the cleaner gender in one respect: Believe it or not, the single dirtiest item at the office is a man's wallet.
I don't even want to think about why.
That's a page from my notebook.
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