The one about germs

I’ve just arrived at the library to study for tomorrow’s Sociology test and I’ve just realised why my mother was so strict about us washing our hands when we came back from school. I took a seat at the computers and my seat was warm. Trying not to think who might have been sitting in this chair before me, I put my hand on the mouse and to my horror that was rather warm too!

Now, with my Matric Home Economics and Biology, I know that “warm” is the right temperature for germs to breed. Suddenly I have an itch on my face but how can I scratch, knowing that I’ve just put my hand over a germ breeding ground? I am no longer an innocent carrier of germs, I know they’re there feeling nice and warm and ready to be transferred to anything else I touch.

It’s horrifying to think how many labs and subsequently mouses and chairs and keypads, there are on campus availing them to be the breeding ground for these germs. And we, diligent students, carry these very germs to our rooms, our lecture halls and our dinning halls.

Perhaps the solution that’s needed is a simple box of wipes next to each mouse in every lab. Although, could be tricky; when Pick ‘n Pay had the wipes for their trolley’s, suddenly everyone was aware of the germs they might have touched. Perhaps there needs to be a time laps between every user, that way, my seat and mouse will always be chilled to the right temperature, and I’ll go back to being an innocent carrier of the library germs.