You ’d expect public bathrooms to be pretty perfect , especially in and around the toilet . By the time people have washed their hands and head towards the dryers , however , you ’d go for that most of people ’s rank bacteria would have been washed aside down the waste pipe . Right ?
Nichole Ward , a student from Carlsbad , California , decided to prove that for her microbiology course . She collected bacteria from a dryer by put an unfastened petri dish inside it for three minutes , and then incubated the bacteria collected . She post the results of the experimentation to Facebook , and made the post public after her grossed - out friends call for she alarm the world .
The post went viral because , well , the image of the petri dish is really , really gross .
" Ok guys .. ready to have your nous ball up ? ! " the scholarly person wrote on Facebook .
" This here , is what acquire in a petri peach after just a few day . I stuck the open home in a Dyson hand dryer of a public can for a sum of three minutes . Yes , three only . DO NOT EVER dry out your hand in those things again . "
Pretty grim , no ?
People were rather alarm by the experiment .
But it gets worse . Nichole enounce that several of the strain of microorganisms she found could induce disease .
" This is the several strains of possib[ly ] pathogenic fungi and bacterium that you ’re twiddle around your hands , and you think you ’re walk out with clean bridge player . You ’re welcome . "
So why is there so much bacteria collected in the cup of tea , and should you be apprehensive ?
While it ’s true that a peck of normal bacterium collect on your hands will await somewhat gross under a microscope ( see the look-alike below for how unadulterated an 8 - class - sure-enough ’s hand is after fiddle outside ) , the petri dish does seem specially gross to our IFLScience biologists . This is not a normal background stratum of bacteria .
This image is of a handprint of an 8 - year - old after spiel outside . Most of the bacteria are completely harmless , and will avail the nestling build immunity .
As for how it father there , one commenter pointed out that the drier pull in breeze from the bathroom , drift bacteria and all , and then fire it at your hands at high speeds . Which is a fairly forbidding idea if you really remember about it .
However , Dyson said that they were unsure about the methodology used by Nichole in her experimentation for course of study .
" We ’re very surprised to see these results , " they toldABC Action News .
" All Dyson Airblade handwriting drier have HEPA filter that capture particles as small as bacterium from the washroom air before it leaves the auto . "
They point out that the machines are trusted by everyone from hospital to food producer around the world . It could be that Nichole behave her test on a dryer with a dodgy filter , or that it was a particularly dirty privy .
Nichole stressed that her post , which has been shared by over half a million people , was n’t there to terrify anybody , just to get up awareness of bacteria in public restrooms .
If you are really worried or gross out by the experimentation , however , possibly opt for newspaper towels .
