When I play card games with my wife’s parents, I am constantly wincing as they lick their fingers on EVERY SINGLE turn as they draw a card or play a card. Even before COVID, it grossed me out a little, now I find it abhorrent. However, I have no idea how to bring it up graciously. I know it is completely an unconscious habit, and I doubt they’d be able to stop it even if they wanted to.
What would you do? How to ever bring it up? Or just ignore it and suffer in silence? I am actually considering bringing latex gloves for next time we play something.
Encourage your in-laws to watch the film The Name of the Rose, in which several monks die via poisoning; another monk has placed poison on the pages of a book, which was then ingested by the monks as they habitually licked their fingers before turning the book’s pages.
Best way to stop this is by placing a small wet sponge on the table and explaining to everyone beforehand that it’s a COVID/Norovirus precaution and you’d like everyone to use the sponge instead of licking their hands. We you mention it, use language such as “we” and “us”, to include yourself. That way, it doesn’t look like this is targeted at anyone specific. “I put this sponge on the table so we don’t have to lick our fingers before touching the cards. This will protect us from whatever disease is on the news lately”
Or excuse yourself from the card table and conspicuously overshare - “I gotta go hit the john, that bean burrito I had went right through me.” While in the bathroom, hide the roll of toilet paper in a cabinet. When returning from the bathroom say “Did you know you’re out of t.p.? I could NOT find where you keep it. You might want to restock.” Then sit back down and make a big show of handling the cards…"now where were we, was it my deal?.."
Also, if you’re gambling, establish a rule that whomever licks their fingers has to pay a dollar to the first person who catches them and calls it out!
Remember, it’s for COVID and it’s necessary in these difficult times. It’s not because what they do is fucking disgusting…
If you (any “you”) had any idea what’s on every public door handle you’ve ever touched in your adult life you’d realize how silly all this fear of contamination is.
We all live our entire lives wading through a morass of other people’s dead skin, dead hair, skin & hair oils, saliva, sweat, and unwashed whatevers. All day every day. Getting excited about the 0.01% you specifically notice while being utterly unaware of and utterly unconcerned about other 99.99% is IMO silly.
It would make me all stabby if somebody covered any of my game paraphernalia in unnecessary gunk, even in small amounts.
Not because of health concerns, or even grossness concerns; my games are important to me, and should be treated with respect. Some of them are hard (if not impossible) to replace. I won’t lick your board/card games, even by proxy, and I would expect the same from you.
I don’t know that I’m too bothered by it, but I would personally take pains not to do it to other people’s cards.
Something of an interesting anecdote. One time in high school during a free period, me and a few friends, including a girl I liked, were playing cards. She was eating a blue lollipop and got a few blue fingerprints on my playing cards. I still have those cards, and those fingerprints haven’t quite faded away yet.
There really aren’t that many doorknobs in public places. Push and pull doors are much more common, and I will confess I usually use my foot or my elbow.
I’ve never had a finger-licker when playing card games, but I too would be appalled if there were one.
I did know a cashier who would lick her fingers when opening plastic bags to put my items (and everyone else’s) items in. I asked her “please don’t like fingers” and she snapped, “Oh my GODDDD!” in exasperation, and kept doing it anyway.
In terms of actual disease risk, the cards are covered in germs in any case. Not much difference between the circumstances of licking immediately before or rubbing nose a minute before. But that risk is still small and for germs like Covid the much bigger risk is that you are sitting breathing within a few feet of each other for a prolonged period of time, not from touching cards with germs on them. You accept that risk obviously.
Have you had preschoolers in your house? Your in laws licking are nothing compared to the microscopic coating of poop and snot on every surface if you have.
Still you are entitled to have your fears. Responses here demonstrate that some share them and some of us do not.
If you say something own that it is your fear, not that they are doing something wrong, or from a position of actual disease risk reduction, especially related to Covid risk reduction. They then can try to change behavior as a kindness respecting your anxiety. Which would be polite of them once they know the behavior induces anxiety in others.
