What is Digg?128 Comments
- Indyanna, on 10/11/2007, -2/+52The healthiest kids I know, are kids who play outside. In the dirt.
- mortigon, on 10/11/2007, -2/+49This should be common knowledge... your body needs to learn to fight off the germs by actually fighting off those specific germs...
I learned that in high school. - MaximumPig, on 10/11/2007, -4/+49it's not just bad for you, it's bad for the whole human race. drop the purel or we're doomed.
- rockrapdude, on 10/11/2007, -4/+43Actually, just stop using anti-bacterial soaps
- mortigon, on 10/11/2007, -3/+36gungaroo you damn hippy :P
Like rockrap said, just use regular old soap and water - explnx, on 04/27/2009, -4/+36This has been well-known forever. Why is it a story on digg?
AMAZING INVENTION!!! Using rope and knots to fasten shoes! [pic] - Sifl, on 10/11/2007, -1/+30Research funded by the Paper Street Soap Company.
- stephdau, on 10/11/2007, -4/+31It's such a recurring point. Too much of a good thing can be bad. Moderation is the key.
- rockrapdude, on 10/11/2007, -3/+30So you mean I should take my Wii outside?
- erikerikerik, on 10/11/2007, -4/+29" Besides, what d'ya think you have an immune system for? It's for killing germs! But it needs practice, it needs germs to practice on. So if you kill all the germs around you, and live a completely sterile life, then when germs do come along, you're not gonna be prepared."
George Carlin
http://downwithsnark.blogspot.com/2006/06/on-allergies-and-george-carlins-advice.html
^ full quote^ - Zarathustra19, on 10/11/2007, -1/+24Yes, it's quite simple really. Expose yourself to germs, bacteria, viruses = Healthy immune system.
- DeskFlyer, on 10/11/2007, -2/+22Nothing strange about it.
- erikerikerik, on 10/11/2007, -2/+19wait wait wait.. whats this "map," you speak of?
- DiggCommando, on 10/11/2007, -3/+19I think half of America can't identify Iraq on a world map when they graduate high school. You, sir, expect way too much from our educational system!
- patkirkrick, on 10/11/2007, -0/+16The detergent aisles at the supermarket are just chock full of triclosan products. Why? What the hell started this American (Western?) fear of germs? What's wrong with soap, and alcohol/h2o2 for cuts?
As George Carlin said: "When I was a little boy in New York city in the 1940s, we swam in the Hudson river. Remember the polio epidemic? In my neighborhood no one ever got polio! No one. EVER! You know why? Cause WE SWAM IN RAW SEWAGE! It strengthened our immune system. The polio never had a prayer! We were tempered in raw *****!" - Zarathustra19, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12Indeed. Moderation seems to be a long lost idea in today's society.
- jasmin888, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11These products have been more or less banned or discouraged throughout Europe for several years
- ubuwalker31, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10@MaximumPig (#7088213)
Purel is made from alcohol. Which the article implicitly recommends. - verstohlen, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11I believe Purell is fine because its active ingredient is alcohol, not triclosan as the article states. Alcohol is fine for killing bacteria. From the article: "...general cleaners such as alcohol inflict sweeping damage to cells by demolishing key structures, then evaporate." So no worries there, mate.
- AtheistAcolyte, on 10/11/2007, -2/+11Ummm.. except in the case of antibiotics. Don't be wishy-washy. Take all your antibiotics or don't take any. Otherwise your bacteria will develop a resistance. Simple as that.
- SpaceDreamer, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Exactly. This is nothing new, and fairly obvious.
Whenever a product says "Kills 99.9% of germs",
you can guess what the remaining 0.1% are.
We are accelerating the natural selection of harmful bacteria,
and loosing the arms race against them.
If we keep doing that nonsense, one day humans will have to constantly wear giant condoms that cover all their body
to protect their weak immune system against harmful germs. - Xanium4332, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10what did your post actually achieve???
- knobtwiddler, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9there are some things you never want to be exposed to., not even in small amounts. there are other ways to support your immune system than deliberately exposing yourself to germs. you'll get enough exposure to the common stuff regardeless, even if you try to be somewhat careful. playing in the dirt is probably not dangerous, but for example i don't lick bathroom doorknobs.
- xedd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Does anyone else have trouble FINDING liquid soap that doesn't have the anti-bacteria crap in it? All I see in the stores lately is antibacterial stuff! It's like they don't even make any normal, liquid, just-plain-soap.
I wonder if the soap companies would sell a ******* of product that specifically did NOT have this antibiotic crap in it and was nationally advertized that way! - Samsong, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7@gungaroo22
Don't make me wash you with a fire hose. - pableaux, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Purell (& other hand sanitizers) are NOT antibacterial products. They clean through the use of alcohol, which is listed in this article as one of the traditional methods of cleaning bacteria that does NOT contribute to the creation of superbacteria.
However, I agree that there's nothing wrong w/getting dirty, especially if you're a kid. Let 'em play!! - yakuzablitz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6The problem is that it doesn't seem obvious to the average consumer. They just see "Kills 99.9% of germs!", think it's a good thing to protect themselves and their family (Think about the children!!), and pop it in their shopping cart. Really, the manufacturers are being irresponsible in continuing to market and sell these (non-alcohol based) antibacterial products.
Now, if someone could just start a rant about all the antibiotics going into our food supply because of the meat that we eat and the way it's raised... - manmademark, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I felt all spiffy having already known this but then I realized how I stumbled upon such knowledge. I was tired as hell during two classes where I had an hour and a half break between them, rather than go back to my apartment I decided to stay on campus. It was hot (I live in Florida) so I walked into the closest lecture hall and sat in a chair to snooze.. right before passing out I remember the guy passionately rambling about this.
Yeah that was a pointless story, sorry for making you read it I just had to get it off my chest. - slezzzter, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6@MaximumPig:
Purell is mostly ethyl alcohol (124-proof to be exact). It is not a specific-acting anti-bacterial like the ones in the article. Therefore, it's not really the problem. With all the eating I do in front of my computer, I'm sure my keyboard is a cornucopia of malignant bacteria. I'd be dead by now if not for a large bottle of Purell.
I used to buy the extra-large bottles with the pumps until one time when I mistook it for my hand lotion. I can still feel the burning. - Snarfy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7More specifically, antibodies are what your body creates to fight disease. Your body needs germs in order to make new antibodies. An antibody is a mirror image of a germ. Buy using the germ as a template, your body makes what is basically a ring that fits around the shape of the bacteria so that it can then be disposed of/destroyed. Every germ gets a custom made net to catch them in.
- Ibox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6next up on strange but true... Masturbating doesn't actually make you go blind
- cr0ss, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10In the dirt.
- brbubba, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8They've been saying this for years, ever since they introduced the stuff. I tell this to everyone who uses this crap, yet do they listen to me? NOoooo.
- GlargTheKelfn, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7good article. the bottom line: the active chems in the soaps are similar to antibiotics, and have a long life. flush all that down the sewer where all the germs breed, and you get better germs.
back to alcohol or good old ivory soap - idonthack, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5"general cleaners such as alcohol inflict sweeping damage to cells by demolishing key structures"
*knocks back a few shots of whiskey*
Good stuff. - rockrapdude, on 10/11/2007, -10/+15That's why the human race is so weak when confronted with germs. It doesn't know what to do with the bad germs. Even my biology teacher said that the human race shouldn't wash as often as we do. Once a week full body, three times a week the critical areas - the armpits and the genital areas, every day - hands, teeth, face and feet.
- VaporBro, on 10/26/2007, -2/+6gungaroo...22...
Dude...totally should try some Old-Fashioned Oatmeal soap. That or some ginseng soap. Maye even some hemp soap. You too can be a hippy AND smell good!
Smoke weed. - sinurgy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I think what they mean is 'Strange-but-Obvious...'
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4This is old news ...back 30 40 yrs ago Antibacterial agents were only in Hospitals and Medical Facilities....every since the late 1989 to early 90's every company on the planet started adding Antibacterial to everything from SOAP to HAND-cream and tissues, cleaners and cleansers! Hell even Tooth-PAste and Air Freshners in a can or plug ins, pet deodorizer , carpet fresh powder, cat litter , laundry detergent, bounce sheets , you freakin name it !!
The idea at the time was a valid one...keep germs out of the home...except no one foreseen bacteria and air born bacteria would mutate and pathogens would start at metaphoric rate and build up certain types of immunity to these said Anti-Bacterials !! Hence the diseases are becoming more frequent and stuff like the common flu and cold are becomong more harder and harder to battle and keep under wraps from being spread or vanishing quickly..they should have kept Anit-Bacterials in the Hospitals and never in the common home or at the very least it should have been monitored and only given in certain products and low levels ! - loganhid, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Another reason not to have a bath
- zigspective, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Although this may be "known", but it should still be repeated as often as possible. People are obviously not getting the message as they keep buying anti-bacterial products so companies keep producing them.
- Snarfy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I've always tried to avoid buying antibacterial soap, and for this very reason. Soap is already antibacterial. You don't need triclosan.
My problem is that it is nearly impossible to buy soap that doesn't have triclosan anymore. If you do actually find any you'll only have one or two brands to choose from. The rest will all have triclosan in them.
The article mentions that antibacterial soaps are popular, but I just never saw it that way. It seemed like one week there was regular soap, the next week almost every brand was antibacterial. - Juaquin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Seems like someone never took a science class. Didn't the media have a field day a few years ago when they realized antibacterials were just making bacteria resistant, meaning we had to keep moving onto stronger and stronger antibacterials? Seems like these guys are a little slow. A little bacteria is necessary for everything. You couldn't eat if there weren't bacteria in your digestive system, etc etc.
- PhilLesh69, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4lots of people just like to be good little consumers, and they buy into all the BS that gets sold to them.
Reason and logic are diminishing resources. - kodekitten, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I would simply encourage fellow diggers, like I did all my chemistry students for the past few years, so be smart consumers and pay CLOSE attention when shopping. I revealed this antibacterial issue to my kids, and they immediately understood why it made sense, but find that because dumb consumers and savvy advertisers have run amok, it's very hard to find simple hand soaps that don't have any kind of antibacterial agent. Sometimes it seems as if the soap is "normal hand soap", but then in small letters they sneak antibacterial in on you. It's getting to be the default soap setting.
By the way, we're having this exact same issue with antibiotics in our meat and poultry! - gossipninja, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6JEFFREY: You know what "crazy" is? "crazy" is "majority rules". Take germs for example.
COLE: Germs?!
JEFFREY: In the 18th century there was no such thing! Nobody'd ever imagined such a thing -- no sane person anyway. Along comes this doctor...Semmelweiss, I think. He tries to convince people... other doctors mostly...that there are these teeny tiny invisible "bad things" called germs that get into your body and make you...sick! He's trying to get doctors to wash their hands. What is this guy...crazy? Teeny tiny invisible whaddayou call 'em?..."germs"!
So cut to the 20th century! Last week in fact, right before I got dragged into this hellhole. I order a burger in this fast food joint. The waiter drops it on the floor. He picks it up, wipes it off, hands it to me...like it was all okay.
"What about the germs?" I say. He goes, "I don't believe in germs. Germs are just a plot they made up so they can sell you disinfectants and soap!" - AtheistAcolyte, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4"super-" is easier to write than "antibiotic resistant". Stop whining about semantics.
- mykool, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Don't forget the patchouli dude.
- emt1451, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Uh, duh. I thought this was common knowledge. You should only disinfect what could actually be dangerous...not every surface in your home.
- Kappa00, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Your immune system cant just rip strats, you know, it has to make em' up, right?
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