Pancake City

Last fall, there was a study released saying that keyboards have more bacteria than toilet seats. The study appeared in a few news outlets, and I wrote this post in response about our maligned friend the toilet seat.

I don’t understand how these things work, but several days ago, the study (or a similar study with the same conclusion) reappeared in the news. Except this time, it got a lot more coverage. I heard it mentioned in a tech podcast, the front page of Yahoo, and at least one other news source.

I don’t have access to Lexis-Nexis or a similar news database, but I’m 95% sure this is essentially the same story that appeared around October and that it got picked up by many more media outlets this time. Hold on, I’m going to do some research.

[...]

Okay, as far as I can tell, this is what happened. A University of Arizona microbiologist, Chuck Gerba, published a study in 2002 measuring the amount of bacterial on phones, desks, and keyboards in offices in various parts of the country. The study, sponsored by The Clorox Company, detailed the number of evil, horrible bacteria on everyday office objects and then recommended that one could drastically reduce the number of bacteria on one’s desk by using a disinfectant wipe, like, I don’t know, Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (this is in the study linked above).

The study fit two most important qualifications for media outlets: sensationalism (”Your Desk Is Dirtier Than a Toilet!”) and relatability (”Hey, I worked at a desk!”). Clorox loves it–the study recommends using anti-disinfectant wipes, and includes a sponsorship message in the study. The University loves it–gets the name of the institution in media across the world. Dr. Gerba loves it–he gets his work funded, and shows his value to his department.

Dr. Gerba gives these cash cow studies a name, “Germs in the Workplace”, and does the same study every few years with a different spin.

There’s a Valentine’s Day study (who’s ‘germier’, men or women?), a location study (’which city has the most germy office’), and a study that determines the “germiest job”, During flu season, news outlets like CNN will bring out the findings again and call him up for a quote.

Does having all these bacteria and viruses on our keyboards and phones actually affect our health? Well, that’s besides the point. Everyone gets what they want without asking that question. In fact, answering the question could very well ruin the complex symbiotic relationship at work here.

That explains why the germs-on-keyboard story seemed so familiar. It is familiar. And we will likely hear it again, with a new twist, in the near future.

For the record, the most recent incarnation of this story isn’t from Chuck Gerba. A British magazine, Which? Computing,  decided to get in on the fun, and many American media outlets were happy to print the same story again. Watch out, Dr. Gerba. It’s not stealing if it happens on another continent.