Ewww Factoids of the Week: Toilet Trivia

by Liberty on March 26th, 2008

Now, what would your Wednesday be without a little disgusting trivia centered around the Porcelain God, hm? Exactly.

In a recent Men’s Health snippet, the sheer repulsiveness of toilet splatter (for lack of a better term) is spelled right out for us. Right down to the nitty gritty details of all that a flush of the toilet has in store for us. Curious? Okay, put down your sammich and read on…

* With each flush, fecal pathogens can splash out of the bowl and hang tight on nearby surfaces - including you!

* The splash radius of a toilet is usually 3 to 4 feet (so you may want to rethink where you keep your toothbrush, no?)

* The splash radius of a high-powered public restroom toilet is as far as 20 feet and can pack as many as 1 million infectious organisms in its spray.

* It takes the ingestion of as few as 10 particles of various viruses or bacteria to cause such pleasurable symptoms as fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Yum.

* Such spray-friendly viruses and bacteria include:

So, wow. Interesting stuff, hey? Now do you see why I’m such a drone when it comes to hand-washing (and opening the door of a restroom with a paper towel upon your exit)? Also, you may want to make it common practice to close your toilet seat lid at home before you flush and move items such as brushes, contact cases, medications and the like as far away from the pot as you can. The toilet can be just as nasty as it is necessary, so protect yourself from its blast, and all will be right in the world.