Toilet seats > shoes.

Have you ever thought about how dirty your shoes can be? I mean it makes sense, they are what keep you from the dirty dirty floor each and every day. Most people don't really think about it, but they should. A study conducted by the University of Arizona shows there are more that nine different types of bacteria that can be found on our shoes at any given time. These bacteria can cause infections in our eyes, lungs, and stomachs. A second study done by "Good Morning America" tested the bottom of 8 peoples shoes, only to find 66 MILLION organisms. 'GMA's" test results showed that the bottoms of your shoes were dirtier than a toilet seat. Out of 10 tests GMA conducted 9 showed traces of coliform. Which is a type of bacteria usually found from animal waste.

So why should we care? I mean it's not like we eat off our shoes. Well think about it; you bring all that bacteria into your house each time you get home. Children are the most vulnerable to germs, they play on the floor and put things they find on the floor into their mouths. A study shows a child puts their hands into their mouths an average 80 times a hour. Do you really want that for your child or sibling? More than 90% of the time bacteria from your shoes actually transfers to the floors. Unless you're a clean freak and constantly clean your house, your shoes can actually effect your health. It really bugs me thinking I'm dragging in all the places I've been that day. Ways to keep clean are to wash your shoes, or take them off at the door. And always wash your hands after taking your shoes off.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=5177409

Stupidity is actually contagious.

Research shows a virus was actually found in throats of 40% of the people in a research group. This is important because that same 40% actually tested lower in mental awareness and visual processing than the rest of the group. This virus usually attacks green algae, so it's strange how its found in humans. This is really interesting because it leads to the idea that this virus actually makes people dumber. When I first looked into this research I was shocked; is it possible a virus can actually make you more stupid than people that don't have it? How does one get this disease?

Theres hundreds of different viruses and even more mutations to each one! The virus Clorovirus ATCV-1 has been around for years, but it had never been found in healthy humans before. It's not harmful, unless you consider loosing a few points in an IQ test "harmful". It amazes me that this virus has some effect on your brain, but leaves you healthy. This study showed that there are possibilities of more microbes that have affects on your mental abilities.

Dr. Robert Yolken, a virologist that was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, commented on this studying saying "this is a striking example showing that the 'innocuous' microorganisms we carry can affect our behavior and cognition". It amazes me that there are organisms that can actually affect our mental abilities. I didn't even know that was possible until this article informed me!


http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/23380