Every year, germs make millions of people sick. These nasty things live on surfaces, in crevices, and they linger in the air. Depending on the exact type of germ, some stick around for quite a long time.
Now with the world facing a pandemic, learning how germs spread is an important way to understand why hand-washing and social distancing are essential. The challenge is that not all of the information being circulated is true. That makes it hard for the average person to appreciate the seriousness of the situation.
Germs are invisible
You can’t see where germs are, making it impossible to avoid them. The same goes for airborne germs. Having no idea where they are, people don’t know what areas to stay away from. With the COVID-19 virus, that’s one of the biggest issues.
One man found a way to educate the public
Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer, is an expert in this field. Today, he maintains a YouTube channel where he provides all kinds of interesting information. Recently, he uploaded a video specifically about germs, showing how quickly and easily they spread.
The importance of washing hands
We’ve all heard that especially during the coronavirus pandemic, hand-washing is critical. Even more important, people shouldn’t touch the face. In Rober’s video, this is one of the many things he stresses while discussing the spread of germs.
An incredible experiment
To get his point across, Rober came up with an idea. He used a powder called Glo Germ (although it comes in a lotion formula too). When sprinkled or applied to various surfaces, germs light up like a Christmas tree.
Getting started
Rober uses three students, none of whom knew what his experiment was about. He applied a small amount of the Glo Germ powder on their hands and then told them not to touch their faces.
That’s just crazy
After a couple of hours, Rober returned to the classroom to reveal his secret. Using ultraviolet light, he showed the students what’s on their hands…lots of germs. He did the same thing with his hands. Disgusting. This proved how vital it is for people to wash hands as often as possible.
You’ve got to be kidding
But he wasn’t finished. Now, he wanted to show them how they spread germs throughout the classroom simply by touching different objects. These results were even worse. The desks, chairs, the floor, and everything else were covered with germs.
“Don’t touch your face”
Before taking a break, Rober also applied Glo Germ to the teacher’s hands with the same instruction to avoid touching her face. But when back in the classroom, you guessed it, germs were all over her face. Rober explained that the eyes, nose, ears, and pores are all places where germs enter the body.
That’s an interesting fact
Although our hands help spread germs, it’s impossible to catch a virus directly through them. Considering the average person touches their face 16 times every hour, frequent hand-washing dramatically decreases the risk of getting sick.
Sneaky
Rober then applies lotion to the hands of another group of students. Then he tells them he made a mistake and to go wash it off. He even reminds them to “do a good washing.” Unbeknownst to them, the lotion he applied was Glo Germ. He wanted to see just how well they cleaned their hands.
Although the students thought they did a good job, under ultraviolet light, they didn’t. The worst areas were on the back of the hands and around the fingernails.
Staying healthy starts by making good decisions
Of the millions of viruses, some are beneficial to the earth’s ecosystem. But a very small percentage can prove deadly to humans…like COVID-19. With Rober’s advice, people know some of the things they need to do to protect themselves.
To learn more about germs, it’s worth your time to watch the video below and share it with your kids.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
