5 Things I Learned This Week of 2009-Part 18

Kill Germs

I have Purell, hand sanitizer at my desk at work and Germ-x by my computer at home and in the kitchen and have started using it. It says it kills 99.99% of the germs I come in contact with. The desk has an abundance of them, over 10 million according to Dr. Charles Gerba, university of Arizona Microbiologist! Do you was your hands enough? Click here to find out.

DirectTV Remote

Gerard discovered that if he's watching a sports channel and hits the red button on the remote control, scores come up for baseball, basketball, and hockey. He got excited about that!

Art

At Freaky Frugalite I saw some interesting hand art that I've never seen before. This is way more than just making a fist and drawing some eyes on your finger and lips on your mouth. (Picture used by permission from Guido Daniele of http://yoke.cc/handart.htm where a lot is displayed. Really worth checking out.)

Drawing

I learned from my S.S. class this week how to draw an angry face by having the eyebrows be low above the nose and go up. They like it when they can teach me things too!

Vocabulary

We Are DINKS Gerard and I learned we are DINKS? People with dual-incomes-no-kids. Gerard came across that term in the book he is currently reading, Adventures With Ari, by Kathryn Miles. I never heard of that term before, have you?

Do You Wash Your Hands Enough?

For Secretary's' Day, our firm gave all the support staff a Purell Pal to keep on our desks in an effort to stop the spread of germs and prevent illness. I thought this was a very practical gift and a good idea. I like it because it's handy and dries really fast without any goopy feeling left on my hands. After reading the brochure about "Why You Need Purell" I am now using the hand sanitizer and washing my hands way more than I did before. It had a quote by Dr. Charles P. Gerba, University of Arizona microbiologist that says "The average desk harbors over 10,000,000 germs! The brochure lists the following germ count at an average desk that really got my attention:

• Desktop = 20,961 germs per square inch


• Keyboard = 3,295 germs per square inch


• Mouse = 1,676 germs per square inch


• Phone = 25,127 germs per square inch

Considering I'm at a desk most of the day, I am in contact with LOTS and LOTS of germs. I am at a desk at work and then also at home too when I go on the computer every night. Wow! Both Purell and Germ-x claim to kill 99.99% of most common germs that may make you sick. Many of the most common germs are transmitted by hands; thus, we need to wash our hands frequently.

Here's the list given in the brochure of when we should wash our hands:

• After you shake hands


• Before you snack or eat


• After using the restroom


• After handling money


• Every time you return to your desk (I don't understand this one--does it actually shield against germs too?)


• After getting coffee, using the vending machine, or visiting other shared areas


• When you cough, sneeze or blow your nose


• Before you leave for the day so you don't bring these germs home with you


• Any other time you feel the need

I didn't do so well so have a lot of room to improve starting now. How about you? What are your thoughts about this? Do you use a hand sanitizer?
(This is not a paid post).