In the world, there are tiny little creatures that scare the bejeezus out of people. They are the simplest known form of life but they can chill society to the bone.
Once upon a time, bacteria appeared on the Earth and now – believe it or not – these single cell lifeforms are everywhere. Even inside of people. It’s funny, but words such as bacillus (rod-shaped bacteria) freak people out. They conjure up images of the plague and incurable diseases as the likeliest outcome.
Funny facts about bacteria
Has this ever happened to you: smelling the bad breath of the person you are talking to? If it has, you probably wonder why. At first, you think the person hasn’t brush his or her teeth in the morning. Or, maybe food is the problem. Maybe, he or she has eaten a lot of garlic? Well, it’s actually none of these, and the bacteria in the nose are the ones to blame.
If you plan to search in Google for the top ways to destroy bacteria forever, then you’re wasting your time. People can’t get rid of bacteria because they have the ability to reproduce themselves about once every 20 minutes.
Here’s a curious fact: the smell of the rain is caused by bacteria. So, I was interested in how a person from the rainy capital of the world the UK would react on this. I located a Brit and asked them.
Rob, an Englishman in Spain said: “I like that one, the smell of rain, while it may be from bacteria, because as we know bacteria make up everything! It is interesting because from a scientific point of view the smell comes from what the bacteria makes up! What people will focus on is the fact it has bacteria and immediately think it’s bad.”
The next thing on the list may come as a surprise to many. The strongest creatures on the Earth are gonorrhea bacteria. They can pull 100,000 times their own body weight. It’s strange to wonder how gonorrhea would look if it were human size, and imagine what a spectacle it would be to witness a boxing match between Mike Tyson and gonorrhea!
Did you know that a computer keyboard can carry more than 200 times as many bacteria as a toilet seat? Well, no diggity, it can. So, watch over your computer keyboard – better don’t give it to anyone and cover it up with nylon.
Image credit: Niaid / Staphylococcus aureus bacteria
No doubts, it’s all true
Believe it or not, these are all true. Ask yourself this: how often you are using your headphones while traveling in order to escape from boredom? The answer is probably, on a daily basis. But just one hour of wearing headphones increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times. Gross!
To make the things even filthier, here is the unbelievable truth: there are more bacteria in a person`s mouth than there are people in the world. Facts like this one, people refuse to accept just because it doesn’t sound right. Many people avoid thinking about this matter and take brushing their teeth as a form of salvation from bacteria.
Now, all the youngsters here may have to find a seat, because after reading this the world may fall apart for them. Attention: Mobile phones have 18 times more bacteria than toilet handles. To illustrate how frustrated people get about this, here is what an average guy Zack said: “I would never touch my phone again. I would use gloves or touch my phone with a toilet handle instead!”
The next fact will change the lives of many. For all of the coffee drinkers, 20% of the office coffee mugs contain fecal bacteria (which originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals). Lots of people already think: “Offices suck!” but there are options to deal with this aspect of the working process; either bring your own cup to the office or just drink from cardboard cups.
Bacteria has a positive impact, too
Don’t be too harsh on bacteria though. Not all of them are bad guys. Some of them help with digesting food while others are used to make antibiotics. Also, bacteria produce small amounts of B vitamins.
We usually think of bacteria as being dangerous but the truth is that they be good too. Certain types of bacteria play a vital role in the ecosystem. Also, some species of bacteria can be useful in agriculture.
Bacteria are used in food as well. Some food production processes such as fermentation of milk into cheese, wine making or the pickling of vegetables wouldn’t be possible without the activity of bacteria.
The best possible news ever is that chocolate has an anti bacteria effect on the mouth and protects against tooth decay. At least now people have a good excuse to eat more chocolate.
[Image credit: Wiki Commons]
People’s reaction
In order to write this article I made a list of few facts about bacteria and started asking around to see how people reacted, and what interested them the most.
Michael: “I know that in the mouth there are bacteria, but I was blown by the fact that they are more than the whole world population. I wasn’t that surprised by the fact that the toilet is full of them because it is logical there to have way more bacteria than other places.”
Alex: “In general, I think bacteria are filthy and heinous. I am absolutely disguised by the fact that bacteria of other are able to reach your body without you allowing that to happen. For example, when your colleges are coughing or even when you are just in the office. I am frustrated by the idea that bacteria in your body can cause you so many troubles.”
Zack: “Every time I see a person cough and walk in my direction, I always try to defend my face from the bacteria. But, imagine how many bacteria there are in total – a lot!”
Thais: “Things around us are so dirty!”
Edi: “Some of the facts are obvious and quite mainstream, but the one with the bad breath is interesting.”
Elena said: “I have never thought that listening to music or drinking coffee, things that everybody does on a daily basis, would be so unhealthy. I never thought bacteria are so scary and it can be so dangerous for a human being.”
Nikol: “I agree with the fact that there are more bacteria in the keyboard in comparison with the toilet because with our hands we touch super many things and the bacteria reach us very easily. After that we just start carrying the bacteria from a place to place. And the keyboard is a place that so many people are touching, so the bacteria is nonstop transported and accumulated and become more and more.”
Petra: “I think that the fact that you have bacteria in your mouth is quote well-known. I don’t think about it in a bad way, I like my bacteria. They are part of me.”
Rob: “I’m not surprised by any of these facts. Bacteria have so many effects on things! But, how many of them are good bacteria and bad bacteria?”
Bacteria are everywhere and we have to bear with them for good. There is no escape, but there are precautions we can take. A good piece of advice is to wash your hands and stay aware when it comes to bacteria.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
