The Korea Consumer Protection Board conducted a survey this week on 120 frequently touched items commonly found in public places. And guess what, computer mouses found in cyber cafes are ranked second most bacteria-infested among the 120 items, containing an average of 690 colony forming unit (CFU) of bacteria per 10cm². That is behind the 1100 CFU found on shopping cart handles, and double of the 340 CFU found on toilet doorknobs and handles.
The bacteria playgrounds:
- Shopping cart handles – 1100 CFU per 10cm²
- Internet cafe computer mouses – 690
- Bus hand straps – 380
- Public toilet handles and door knobs – 340
- Lift buttons – 130
- Train hand straps – 86
The Board has also mentioned that while more than 77% of people know of the importance of washing their hands with soap, only 47.9% actually bothered to do so. So from now on, before you visit your favorite cyber cafe, think about all the bacteria you’re exposing your hands to. And unless you don’t mind holding something dirtier than toilet doorknobs through hours of fraggin’ sessions, we recommend that you bring along your own mouse!
February 18th, 2006 at 3:45 am
Ummmm, the title of this is grammatically incorrect…
February 18th, 2006 at 9:58 am
[Comment ID #1438 Will Be Quoted Here]
Thank you, Mr. Grammer Police.
February 18th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Actually, the word mouse for the computer is in no way related to the animal (mouse). So, the plural form of a mouse for the computer may not necessarily be mice. That just applies to the word used for the animal. About the topic; thats pretty gross, but I guess we all could have guessed that something thousands of people have touched wouldn’t be very clean. Especially considering its being used by a bunch of Counter Strike users…we all know they don’t wash their hands. LOL…j/k j/k.
February 18th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
but, they don’t wash their hands.
February 18th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
“Actually, the word mouse for the computer is in no way related to the animal (mouse).”
Yes it is…
February 19th, 2006 at 4:26 am
talk about peanuts at the bar
February 19th, 2006 at 10:48 am
yup, quite disgusting indeed,
February 19th, 2006 at 11:49 am
Yeah mouse’s is the plural form of computer mouse’s.
February 19th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
[Comment ID #1448 Will Be Quoted Here]
“mouse’s” is not the plural form of a computer’s mouse. an apostrophe-s denotes ownership, so a plural form of a word would not have an apostrophe until after the s.
really now. this was fourth grade information, and yet people everywhere like to prove their ignorance (not just you).
February 20th, 2006 at 4:26 am
[Comment ID #1449 Will Be Quoted Here]
I totally agree, and I’m not even American or Britsh.
But, I happen to teach english in my country,
February 21st, 2006 at 8:40 am
From http://m-w.com/dictionary/mouse :
Main Entry: 1mouse
Pronunciation: ‘maus
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural mice /’mIs/
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mus; akin to Old High German mus mouse, Latin mus, Greek mys mouse, muscle
1 : any of numerous small rodents (as of the genus Mus) with pointed snout, rather small ears, elongated body, and slender tail
2 : a timid person
3 : a dark-colored swelling caused by a blow; specifically : BLACK EYE
4 : a small mobile manual device that controls movement of the cursor and selection of functions on a computer display
End of the debate.
Anyways, that’s quite sick when you think about it. But, if we keep on trying to eliminate bacteria, we might just create the next supervirus which will kill us all, as they will become more and more resistant to all the stuff we use to try and kill them.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:45 am
Wow, looks like I’ll stay away from those mouses