Today, Nov. 19, is World Toilet Day. This day was created by the United Nations' UN-Water initiative to raise awareness about the 2.5 billion people around the world who don't have access to sanitary toilets.
This is obviously a major issue, and one that unfortunately doesn't get as much publicity as it should. Without proper sanitary conditions in restrooms or with people defecating out in the open, which about 1 billion people in the world do, fecal bacteria carries a whole host of diseases, which can be transferred to the public when it gets into the water supply due to poor sanitation.
That's why those of us who live in areas where we have proper restrooms and indoor plumbing should be thankful. But still, many people find using public restrooms, at least in the United States, an altogether gross experience because they fear catching germs from complete strangers, and who knows where they've been? To avoid this, popular methods include covering your toilet seats with paper, squatting and refusing to use public restrooms altogether.
But is catching bacteria from a public toilet really something we have to worry about, or is it just another irrational paranoia of ours? In all actuality, public restrooms are nothing to be afraid of.
Kelly Reynolds, the director of the Environment, Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center at The University of Arizona, recently told BuzzFeed that it's unlikely you'll get a skin infection from sitting on a public toilet seat. Reynolds, whose research specializes in water quality, food safety and disease transmission, said that the germs people have to worry about are those that make their way to people's mouths. "There are very few germs that can actually be transmitted from the seat to your skin," Reynolds told BuzzFeed. "I am definitely in favor of people sitting on the toilet."
In fact, toilets aren't actually as germ-ridden as people think. There are plenty of other places in public and even in your house from which you are as much or even more likely to catch something. Here are some of the more terrifying examples:
Not to freak you out or anything, but fecal germs are basically everywhere, even though Americans are fortunate to have much better sanitation than other developing countries. You should still wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after using the restroom, but don't stress about using a public toilet as much. It's just not worth it.
