Keyboards Are Disgusting

fredr1k writes " A test carried out by Pegasus Lab on account for Swedish magazine PC För alla showed that a normal PC keyboard was infected by more bacteria than a normal toilet seat. More specific it contained 33000 bacteria per square centimeter, compared to 130 on a ordinary toilet seat. The tests also showed occurrence of up to 3100 fungi per square centimeter." Also note that unless you read Swedish, you still have plausible deniability when asked to windex yours.

Comments

Makes sense

[wombatmobile]

The parts that touch the toilet seat are mostly shielded from bacteria by two layers of cloth.

Fingers, on the other hand, frequently stray to the places where bacteria flourish.

Well it makes sense

[riflemann]

People often make this comparison: "XXX is dirtier than a toilet seat!"

Very bad comparison. Toilet seats are generally disinfected quite often, so should in fact be pretty clean. Keyboards are not disinfected.

Many things are dirtier than a toilet seat. Especially things that get fingers on them all day long. Engage brain and it all becomes quite obvious.

Who cares?

[TomorrowPlusX]

As far as I'm concerned, the *world* is filthy, and millions of years of evolution have allowed us to live healthily ( mostly ) in it. It's part of being alive. And the more we're exposed, the stronger we are for it.

I'm not surprised that keyboards are filthy, but frankly, when I was a kid wandering around in creeks hunting crawfish, climbing trees, etc etc I never got sick, and I (almost) never get sick as an adult.

We *need* this exposure. I'm worried for children growing up in sterilized environments today.

Re:Keep it clean will ya

[kiatoa]

Careful with the air compressor. Gentle puffs blow out dust, a blast can wedge dust, crumbs, boogers etc. deep into contacts and other places where they might do more damage than if just left alone. Just speaking from experience here :(

Re:Keep it clean will ya

[alicenextdoor]

That's what your immune system is for! Seriously, have you ever heard of anyone getting sick from a keyboard? There's a really scary tendancy these days to think that all bacteria are evil, and if one ever comes near you you'll die horribly. In fact, there are more baacterial cells in and on the human body than there are human ones. Everything you touch is covered in bacteria. Most of them are harmless, some are beneficial (you couldn't live without your gut flora), and a few are pathogenic, but even pathogenic ones are unlikely to exist on a keyboard in sufficient numbers to harm a healthy adult.

Over-use of anyibacterials encourages the spread of resistance, and may even lead to conditions such as asthma.

Duh.

[danpsmith]

a normal PC keyboard was infected by more bacteria than a normal toilet seat.

Why are people surprised by findings such as this one?

Obviously the toilet seat has less germs. Everyone associates "grossness" with germs in their head. Going to the bathroom is gross, and fecal matter is gross, therefore it must be full of germs and bacteria. Not the case, in fact, quite the opposite.

There are more bacteria on your face, more bacteria on your hands and more bacteria in your mouth than your buttocks in most cases.

Just put in the context of contact with the germ filled world you can see by common sense why this would be true:

Your rear end gets washed and then has very little exposure to germs. Your hands and face are out there all day making contact with all types of bacteria.

So I guess my point is that you can't say keyboards are dirty just because they are more bacteria filled than a toilet seat, because I don't even think a door knob holds up to that standard.

Now common sense would also side with keyboards being rather bacteria filled, but I hardly would consider that comparison to be an indicator.

That's actually true, disgusting as it might sound

[WidescreenFreak]

Actually, what you state has some scientific backing.

I heard it on the news last year that some German (?) scientist recommended eating nose mucous. As he stated, the nose is the only organ of the body that for the most part does not have a self-cleaning mechanism. The purpose of the mucous is believed to be (among other things) the entrapment of bacteria and other undesirables that would otherwise have entered the body.

By picking, we provide the nasal passages with a method of cleaning to provide new mucous and by -- ugh -- eating we introduce the bacteria into our systems that were otherwise trapped, thus allowing our immune systems to learn about it and, more importantly, learn to defeat it.

I actually discussed this a few days later with a friend of mine who's an Emergency Medical Technician and was a medic in the Army Reserves. After hearing the doctor's explanation, he agreed that it all makes sense. The immune system can't practice its self-defense if it doesn't have any targets to destroy.

Personally, I'll take my chances with the keyboard instead. :)