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smooth wombat (796938)

smooth wombat
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http://home.earthlink.net/~kspandle

Journal of smooth wombat (796938)

You don't say. . .

[ #201982 ]
Thursday May 01, @01:56PM
Media
The subject of cleanliness as it pertains to those working in the IT industry comes up fairly regularly, with the obvious jokes about taking showers being the most frequent comment. However, there is another area which really, really, REALLY, needs to be looked at. Specifically, keyboards.

I know what you're thinking. "If I don't take a shower that often, what makes you think I'm going to clean my keyboard?" As I have mentioned on previous occasion, I have come across keyboards which have given me pause as to whether I should put my digits to keys. In one case, and I swear I wasn't hallucinating, there were "things" growing from within the keys.

With bit of wonderful bit of information in your head, I now bring you another in a long series of experiments regarding the germ-capturing capabilities of keyboards.

Interestingly enough, my data points, specifically the one mentioned above, seem to corroborate the unusual finding at the end of the article.


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You don't say. . . 3 Comments More | Login /

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  • Get me a keyboard which is a hard, flat, non-pours surface, without a bunch of nooks and crannies for stuff to hide in, and which I can regularly douse in bleach; and I'll keep it as clean as a toilet for you.

    I know the comparison to a toilet seat is popular, but toilets seats usually aren't that bad. They aren't exactly good growth mediums, as they are usually non-pours in material; they are usually cleaned with some pretty nasty chemicals; and they isn't much in the way of "food" on them.

    Also, what i
    • The problem with a flat keyboard is feedback. Most people, including myself, would have a difficult time typing on a flat surface without the feel of a key beneath our fingers.

      The comparison with toilet seats is used simply because of the nature of the seat. Fecal matter isn't all that sanitary but really, how often to you get it on top of the seat?

      I agree with you on the germ part. I see people routinely using alcohol-based hand cleaners. If you're in a place where you can't get to water, then fine. B
      • As far as McDonald's is concerned, the water for the towel has a packet of sanitizer in it to help keep the nasties down. I should know. I used to work at one. Same thing when cleaning the ice cream and milkshake machines. The blades and parts come out and are put into a container of hot water mixed with one of these packets. They are hand-cleaned then rinsed before being put back in.

        Wow, learn something new every day. I was just picking on McDonalds because I assumed that the large amount of food prep

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