Men Are Filthy Pigs (According To Their Hands)

September 18, 2007 - 2:06 pm By Jess - NYU

urnials The “hand washing police” (creepy!) have decided that men are grosser than women.

During a meeting last Monday for infectious disease scientists, “researchers who spy on people in public bathrooms” (double creepy!) released a study that showed men have issues when it comes to washing their hands after using public toilets.

“One-third of men didn’t bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women” the researchers claimed, basing their findings on over 6,000 people in four big cities.

A spokesman from a co-sponsor of the survey, the Soap and Detergent Association (seriously?), urged men to “step up to the sink”, after holding their weewees at a urinal or taking a dump.

Because women are forced to frequent stalls all the time, we’re probably a lot more likely to realize just how dirty a public bathroom can get—although holding one’s penis and then shaking a stranger’s hand screams ‘unsanitary!’ just as loudly.

So, what is it? Is pee just considered not as dirty to men? Do they simply not care about poo contamination?

Are men really just really f*cking gross most of the time?

…whatever the case, I’m gonna go buy me some Purell and think twice before going into any communial dorm bathroom.

Andrew - University of Michigan says:
Tue, 18th Sep 20073:44 pm

While I’m proud to be among the 2/3 of men that regularly wash their hands after peeing, allow me to respond…

“Are men really just really f*cking gross most of the time?” – Yes. Haven’t ya’ll figured that out by now??

“Is pee just considered not as dirty to men?” – Well, it’s not as though we stand at urinals and pee all over our hands, so while I’m sure most of us would consider pee somewhat dirty (despite the fact that everyone knows it’s entirely sterile and ok to drink!), that doesn’t really cross our minds. On the other hand, as evidenced by the extraordinary amount of attention we pay to our crotches at any given time, most guys probably don’t consider our penises very dirty. I’ll admit, that one’s on us.

“Do they simply not care about poo contamination?” – Poo contamination? I don’t even know what this means! Unlike girls, we generally don’t pee and deuce in the same place in public bathrooms. I’ve never heard of anyone getting poo contamination from a urinal, so no worries there. Now, if guys are regularly dropping deuces and not washing, than I agree; that’s incredibly disgusting.

Erin - Manhattan College says:
Tue, 18th Sep 20073:52 pm

andrew- the poo remark in the story just means that if you’re going to take a shit and not wash your hands…it’s gross.

or if you’ve seen south park, pooping in the urnial causes a lot of problems.

pmcluver says:
Tue, 18th Sep 20075:23 pm

It’s true, my husband is now going out of the bathroom where he works using a paper towel on the door handle; he is disgusted at how many guys do not wash their hands after doing their thing in there!

Disgusting…. bet they then go eat lunch!

HLECH!

Darcy says:
Tue, 18th Sep 20075:50 pm

well, if you think about it, holding one’s wee wee and not washing hands afterwards really isn’t the dirtiest thing you can imagine. I mean, come on, it spews out a sterile liquid and is kept in the pants most of the time. If you’re worried about germs, it’s not the ones from a man’s penis that’s going to be on the prowl.

Although, men don’t wash their hands in general is pretty disgusting, but I’m just not too concerned about them washing their hands in the bathroom.

DrDrHaire says:
Tue, 18th Sep 20079:10 pm

Some time ago an MD stated in a medical column that handwashing after urination is unnecessary. He took a lot of flak for his intellectual honesty. Another physician’s refutation consisted of “Yuck!”–right on the cutting edge if evidence-based medicine. The facts of hygeine should relate to what’s real or not real. Rules based on emotional responses or consensus or “what I’ve always been taught” are completely irrelevant. Let’s see a controlled double-blind study comparing cultures from the hands of washers and nonwashers or washers who touch some other body part, such as the face.

TravelMondo says:
Wed, 19th Sep 20075:20 am

Aren’t there more bacteria and contaminants on the kitchen that the bathroom? you could get salmonella if you don’t wash the countertop after cutting a piece of chicken. you don’t get salmonella from touchin a penis, It’s true some public bathrooms are just plain discusting that you can get sick just from the odor. Isn’t the penis cover by skin just like any other part of the body, e.g. the face or leg or feet, I’d be more worry getting bacteria or fungae from touchin someone’s feet that my penis. Of course I was tought since a child to be clean and wash my hands after going to the bathroom, and I still do. but some people go to extremes.

It’s cynical to be grossed out by things like the penis, for instance when doing a sexual act, what about when a male goes down on a female or viceversa. what do you call that? you take more chances exchanging bodily fluids than just touchin a private part and not washing your hands.

Adam says:
Wed, 19th Sep 200712:11 pm

I basically agree with TravelMondo, there is nothing dirty about the penis. Unless u drag it through the urinal before haning on to it I would say that your hands are just as clean coming out of the bathroom as they were going in. I just avoid touching anything unless I absolutely have to when in a public bathroom.

Allen Taylor says:
Wed, 19th Sep 20073:28 pm

I’m never shaking hands again.

Brimstone says:
Thu, 20th Sep 20075:22 am

Ya think maybe the “Soap and Detergent Association” has maybe a vested interest in exploiting deep-seated cultural taboos and making something seem dirtier than it really is? Ya think all that Triclosan and phosphate just disappears when it goes down the drain? Wash your hands after you poo and before you eat, get over the screwed up idea that genitalia are “dirty”, and stop screwing up the environment. Girls if you really want to know about my hygiene, just check my fingernails. You’re already checking for a wedding band so it’s not much more work.

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9 Comments		Posted in Body, HaHa, News
		Tags: bacteria, bathroom, cities, germs, hand washing, men, public restroom, purell, sink, survey, unsanitary, women