I'm as clean as the bathroom door handle!
I remember when I was a kid and I’d go to a birthday party or something that was being hosted by a moderate-to-severely uptight mom, they’d never let us just grab a sandwich or some chips off of the tray. We had to use the tongs. They were the magical way that we kept from sharing our germs. Because, of course, you couldn’t expect a kid to only touch the sandwich he picked up, right?
And you can’t expect adults to pull it off, either. That’s why when ever you see a sample basket at the supermarket (Central Market, particularly) or at Sam’s, there’s always a gleaming pair of tongs there for you to pick up your free chips.
Last week I was at Le Madeleine and encountered the sacred tongs while going for a piece of bread. Just as I was reaching out to them, I paused and pulled my hand back. It had never occurred to me before, but for all these years that the tongs have been protecting us from slightly contaminated bread, nothing’s been protecting us from the tongs.
So now, instead of the possibility that the back of someone’s hand touched my bread slice, or (heaven forbid) they picked it up by accident, every single person has touched the tongs. Ewww.
So next time you see me picking the tongs up with a napkin then stuffing my bare hand into the basket, don’t call security, thank me for reminding you not to use the tongs.
Alison
You’re so funny…
Seriously, I feel your revulsion. I can become as O.C. as the next person, but this one might have an easy remedy. Pick up your items with the tongs then before you eat, use hand sanitizer. That will even take care of the money you handled and the tray you carried it to the table on!
Just remember, our bodies are amazingly resilient. Thank God, literally.
Charles
But the hand sanitizer is making germs resistant!!!!!
Okay, that was a mock freak-out. I actually have little problem sharing germs. I’ve used the tongs all my life and never caught anything I could trace back to them. That’s not to say I’ve never gotten a cold or something from them, but I’m not really concerned.
I was just thinking that tongs are a perfect analogy to government bailouts. You’ll be seeing that at A New Kind of Politics very soon.
Alison
I don’t think hand sanitizing gel (60- 95% alcohol) makes resistant germs. It’s the antibacterials triclosan and triclocarban in hand soaps and wipes. Resistance results from long term use at low-level concentrations.
But nothing replaces hand washing.
Charles
I think my sarcasm is sometimes too subtle. I don’t worry much about germs, even resistant ones. I make sure my meat is cooked and there’s nothing visible on my food. Other than that I wash my hands and hope for the best!
Mom
I have been thinking about this for years. Each time I go to a buffet or food fest or where ever you get the opportunity to choose your food. I helped myself by thinking that in the food (be it warm or cold) the little buggers would multiple. Going from 1 to a gazillion and have us going and going and going. One day I may blog about the latex gloves. That’s a whole other story.