The dirtiest things you touch when you travel

not sure if any are familiar with lonely planet. produce travel guides like frommers, yet aim for more of the backpacking crowd.
i found this interesting and not necessarily aimed only at the traveling crowd. we've all possibly heard of the coc aine residue on cash and bathrooms might be kinda' obvious.
anyhow, figured this might be worthy of a discussion considering the threat of disease and superbugs etc.

Did the movie Contagion freak your scat out? Me too. In fact, I was initially barred from seeing the movie because my friends weren’t sure I could handle it. You see, I have what logical people will recognize as a perfectly normal and healthy awareness of the cascading festival of germs on various surfaces. My friends view this as a hilarious eccentricity. What my filthy, disgusting friends don’t seem to understand is that starting a global pandemic is as easy as one exceptionally diseased person sneezing on your hand, then you picking out an eye booger with that hand just before boarding a 747 to Tokyo. It’s science, people. That said, I am also a world traveller. I know that travelling is akin to taking a bacteria bath with a urine rinse all day long and there is nothing that can be done about it. So, when I leave on a trip, I go into my head and I say ‘Head, you are going to be exposed to 244 squillion germs in the next few weeks and it’s totally out of your control. So, let’s flip the germ awareness switch off in the meantime and make everyone’s life easier, OK?’ Because this is a topic I know well, I have been tasked with providing a list of the grossest things you will touch while traveling. And since I’m logical (hence, correct), I will follow that information up with comforting reality checks. 1. Airplane bathrooms

link to the rest

reply to post by rubbertramp


Hand rails.
Bathroom door handles.

Do prostitutes in Amsterdam count? LoL (Its a joke im not dis'n hookers)

tsa agents?
But more likely dirty money,the perfect germ delivery system.

reply to post by 12voltz


oh hahaha



Good one!

Except thats the dirtiest thing that touches you!

the handrails in escalators from malls and train stations may contain up to 100 or more different samples of semen and human feces.

in public places i mostly keep my hands in my pockets.

too bad our society only focuses on the most visible aspects of hygiene.

dirty dirty humans

and i don't know which show i saw this on, but our mobile phones usually have more germs and bacteria than a toilet seat.

I haven't checked out the link yet but I will later.
On the thing about flying.

I believe before the smoking ban on planes. The cabins were filled with clean air every so often during the flight.
Since the smoking ban, the airlines have stopped using this method and people are now getting headaches, nausea, catching colds, flu's and all sorts of viruses.

reply to post by rubbertramp


most germaphobes seem to think bacteria is immortal, fact is majority of bacteria dies when exposed to air or when its temperature moves only a few degrees from body temp, (98degrees)

that in mind majority of the bacteria people are so afriad of "building up" on surfaces actualy dies very quickly before the next person touches said surface

whats more the minute traces of the surviving bacteria is less then the amount injected into you during vaccinations, so you can see it as a good thing which will only strengthen your immune system, the good ole saying applies here, "what doesnt kill you makes you stronger"

to be a germaphobe who is pro vaccination is pretty counterintuitive

I'm not a germophobe, but one of the first things I do after getting home from being out anywhere (shopping, work) is wash my hands.
Also, no shoes in the house. You dont know what you've been walking in.

If you are female, (or a male that likes to wear it / don't want to alienate anyone) isn't makeup sharing a big no no?

Thankfully, most rest area toilets are equipped with motion sensors. Plus, I always open the door with a paper towel after I wash my hands. The dirtiest thing I touch when traveling? It's the same answer I'd give for just walking around town. My shoes.

Handrail going up and down escalator.. poles on train in Atlanta