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Doctors' Neckties Transmit Germs
bzipitidoo writes "Real geeks don't wear neckties, and maybe the rest of the world wishes they didn't have to. Ties had a minor comeback with the recent bad job market, but hopefully that's behind us. Apart from the obvious that neckties are uncomfortable, useless, in-the-way, and therefore a waste of time and money, too-tight ties constrict blood vessels and
raise eye fluid pressure which increases the risk of blindness. Now there's a new study showing that
doctors' neckties transmit germs. One suggested remedy from the article is tie condoms."
Seriously, it's one of the few formal pieces of fashion for men that is widely acceptable. Different shades of suit are nice, but a tie can actually have some character. Even how you make the knot can be a little flavored (knot vs bow-like). Plus, it's a lot cheaper than a whole new outfit. And now that I think about it, I never wash, iron, or fold my ties either (like the doctors in the article, I'm sure). Simplest part of my formal wardrobe.
I never understood why people associate ties only with the stress of their work (the tying/binding part), their PHB (the requirement to wear a tie), or the rigors of formality (again, required). The tie is one of the few personalized, professional pieces of formal attire a man is allowed. Embrace it!
I almost always wear a tie. Obviously the poster of this article is profoundly against the wearing of formal clothing, and from the sound of it doesn't know how to tie one without choking himself. A properly tied tie should be comfortable, not constricting.
Here are some reasons to wear a tie:
-You'll appear more professional than your workmates who don't wear one
-You'll appeal more to management types
-You gain the appearance of having status and importance
-It's the only safe place in formal workwear for a man to express himself.
-Ties are a "success indicator", which essentially means that you will be viewed more favourably by persons of the female persuasion (unless your tie has flashing boobies on it).
If none of those reasons has any appeal to you, then don't wear a tie, dress down. The people climbing upwards on the ladder of success will thank you for getting out of their way.
I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
Ties? Come on.
If you're going to needlessly worry about something, worry about the doctor's stethoscope. I'm a medical student, and I've never heard of people cleaning their stethoscopes unless the patient was on contact isolation. I have yet to sterilize mine. Why? It's just not terribly conducive to crap growing on it, and you never put it on open wounds or the like. Skin is a pretty damn good barrier to pathogens.
Also, if you want to worry about more stuff, worry about doctors washing their hands. It's unprofessional and a health risk not to, but it doesn't happen as much as it should with certain people. (I've shadowed GPs who washed their hands less than once per patient.) Many physicians trust Purell hand sanitizer, but some don't. There's a reason no surgeon would scrub in with Purell - they instead use iodine-based scrubbers, with plenty of mechanical scrubbing. Then two layers of gloves on top.
There are worse things than ties...
I was going to mod you down, but a lot of people seem to be on your wavelength so I'm going to reply instead. Perhaps someone will enjoy the alternate viewpoint.
Your reasons to wear a tie seem to be based around a dubious ethic of climbing the corporate ladder based on appearance rather than merit, then picking up the sort of classy lady who is mesmerised by business neckwear. Since I lost the tie I am doing way better in both departments.
Wouldn't it be better for everyone if success was earned on the basis of merit / quality rather than their shiny veneer? Think of (for example) successful software versus its less successful, higher quality alternatives. Or politicians. Or people in your workplace. Or whatever.
Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling
Yet another good reason not to wear a tie to the office :-)
They do. I took a microbio class in college and one assignment was to take a swab of some object in everyday use and see what grows on a petri dish. Well, I chose the pen at the sign-in clipboard to the infermery. When we were looking at the slides we prepared from our cultures, my prof asked me what I had sampled. When I told her she became very upset, especially when she looked at my slide and saw many gram-negative cocci, of which she was afraid that I had grown meningitis. My culture was promptly destroyed.
I almost always wear a jewelled codpiece. Obviously the poster of this article is profoundly against the wearing of formal underclothing, and from the sound of it doesn't know how to strap one on without castrating himself. A codpeice should be exaggerating, not constricting.
Here are some reasons to wear a jewelled codpiece:
-You'll appear more medieval than your workmates who don't wear one
-You'll appeal more to codpiece-wearing types
-You gain the appearance of having status and importance
-It's the only safe place in formal underwear for a man to express himself.
-Codpieces are a "success indicator", which essentially means that you will be viewed more favourably by persons of either persuasion (unless your codpiece is extremely small).
If any of those reasons has any bearing on the job you actually do, you're probably a codpiece salesman or Henry VIII. The people climbing upwards on the ladder of success will wonder why you pay more attention to what you wear than who you are, or how well you did your job.