Idaho Teacher’s Experiment Showcases What Happens To Bread When You Touch It With Dirty Hands
Friday, December 27, 2019 IST
Flu is causing havoc in the United States again as the flu season has begun. To teach her kids some valuable lesson, Jaralee Annice Metcalf of Idaho Falls, Idaho, did a simple experiment. She did a moldy experiment to show the importance of clean hands. Even though it is said that vaccines are the best prevention for flu, there is one more hack. Properly washing your hands may prevent the flu too.
Jaralee conducted a science experiment using bread that proves this. She and her pupils took 5 bread slices and 5 polythene bags, one for each slice. They touched one slice with soiled hands and another with a hand, sanitized using a sanitizer. The third slice was touched with hands cleaned using soap and water. The fourth slice was smeared through a Chromebook while the last slice was left clean and untouched. Each slice was tightly sealed in polythene bags separately and kept undisturbed for 3-4 weeks.
The results were like this: except for the slices left untouched and the one touched with soap-washed hands, all other caught mold. Surprisingly, even the slice touched with hands cleaned with a hand sanitizer also showed mold growth. The one which was touched with soiled hands and the slice swept over the Chromebook suffered the worst.
Metcalf posted the results on her Facebook account saying that washing hands can have no alternative. Not even hand sanitizer does the job right. This experiment sure proves that washing your hands may prevent the flu.
Florida sees flu peaking in January, while for all other states the peak time is December. But this year even Florida is seeing a rise in flu cases among children in December itself. This was said by the Florida Department of Health.
While this experiment was not a properly controlled scientific one, it still drove home the point. Dr. Michael Wiese from Hillsborough also added that flu vaccine is, however, very important. No doubt that washing your hands may prevent flu, but the vaccine prevents the serious effects of flu from occurring.
Another important lesson it teaches people is that hand sanitizer is not a solution to all problems. It has its perks, the safest option is still washing your hands with water. This experiment by this school teacher is worth taking note of.
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
The Directorate of Education (DoE) on Tuesday told Delhi HC that an advertisement for appointing over 9,000 teachers for its schools has been issued and the selecti...
Recently posted . 763 views . 1 min read
Pervez Musharraf is accused of unlawfully suspending the constitution and instituting emergency rule in 2007.
Recently posted . 677 views . 1 min read
As per the new salary hike, teachers with zero to 10 years of experience have been given a 35 per cent professional allowance, whereas a teacher with 10 to 20 years...
Recently posted . 841 views . 3 min read
The video of a cool touchdown handshake between two NASA engineers, working on the InSight probe, is going viral and people love it.
Recently posted . 793 views . 1 min read
You might not have ever realised but the way a person shakes hands with you reveals a lot about his or her personality. In fact, this simple gesture of handshaking ...
Recently posted . 705 views . 3 min read
Trending News & Articles
ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...
Recently posted . 211K views . 1 min read
If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...
Recently posted . 10K views . 2 min read
The Langya henipavirus has a place with a similar group of infections, including Nipah, which is known to kill up to 3/4 of people in extreme cases.
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
Queen's death: The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately...
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
More in Global
Darlene Coker knew she was dying. She just wanted to know why. She knew that her cancer, mesothelioma, arose in the delicate membrane surrounding her lungs and othe...
Recently posted. 843 views . 2 min read
The men, described to be on a "wild work bender", allegedly overran pool decks, bars and other sections of the cruise ship
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
"War happens when diplomacy fails," Pakistan Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said, adding the two sides remained in touch with each other over bilateral issues but...
Recently posted. 802 views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 982 views
Recently posted . 435 views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 1K views . 49 min read
Recently posted . 3K views . 140 min read
With White House residence staff among those hit by the US government shutdown, Trump personally ordered in an "all-American" feast of burgers and pizza o...
Recently posted. 838 views . 1 min read
GJ 357 d, a super-Earth, could provide Earth-like conditions and orbits the dwarf star every 55.7 days at a distance about one-fifth of Earth's distance from ...
Recently posted. 757 views . 1 min read