# Finger lickers when playing games **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800 "2023-03-06T20:07:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/21 "2023-03-07T10:39:05Z")
I would not have a problem with a finger-licker, but I would be careful to keep my own hands away from my face. All the door handles in our [fairly] new hospital are brass. Apparently, the copper in the brass kills germs - who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/22 "2023-03-07T12:52:38Z")
I doubt there is enhanced disease risk from card/cash lickers (saliva is, after all, [antimicrobial](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6855406/)). But such behavior is gross. I might be tempted (at the risk of being deemed passive-aggressive) to respond by having my dog attend games and smearing a bit of peanut butter on the cards so he could slurp it off. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/23 "2023-03-07T13:36:05Z")
> [@Tabco](#): > > 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. This makes me want to vomit. Back when I worked at a drugstore, we had cashiers who would stash their snacks next to the register, and munch on chips or whatever in between handling filthy lucre with their powdery, greasy fingers. Slurp! ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/24 "2023-03-07T14:59:41Z")
How about licking fingers to open the produce bags (the ones that are on a roll) in a grocery store? Then root around the green peppers. UGH ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/25 "2023-03-07T17:39:26Z")
When I was young, we were so poor we had to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken to lick _other people’s_ fingers. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/26 "2023-03-07T18:42:23Z")
Luxury! ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/27 "2023-03-07T23:36:12Z")
So this sort of begs this question: If one is at the cashier and must–for whatever reason–pay with cash but the ony two bills in your wallet are brand new and stuck together, how do you separate them without licking your fingers? Don’t suggest giving the other bill as a tip/donation. I really want to know because this just recently happened to me and I felt foolish trying to get the bills apart. I eventually did but it took way too long. (P.S. Their credit card device was off-line so cash was the only expedient alternative.) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/28 "2023-03-07T23:53:49Z")
They make a moist cake of some sticky stuff that’s pink\* that should be beside any cash register. IMHO. \*it’s probably worm guts and cow slobber 🫢 ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/29 "2023-03-08T00:37:56Z")
_Sortkwik_, made of glycerin according to Google. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/30 "2023-03-08T02:39:38Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > > [@Tabco](#): > > > > 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. > > This makes me want to vomit. > > Back when I worked at a drugstore, we had cashiers who would stash their snacks next to the register, and munch on chips or whatever in between handling filthy lucre with their powdery, greasy fingers. Slurp! I recall calling out Bob of Bob’s Septic Service to pump my tank a few years after I bought my first house with a septic tank. After stuffing his filthy truck’s filthy hose down into the nether regions of my filthy tank with his filthy hands he activated the sucking pump which made truly amazing slurping noises, opened his lunchbox, pulled out a sandwich, and ate it. While standing downwind of the fumes and the occasional watery mist rising from the hose port. No gloves, no washing, no nothing. And most importantly, no concern. Most of us are far too squeamish for our own good. Bob is a hero. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/31 "2023-03-08T04:17:45Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > No gloves, no washing, no nothing. And most importantly, no concern. Most of us are far too squeamish for our own good. Bob is a hero Not washing shit off your hands before eating doesn’t make someone some kind of role model. It makes them disgusting and lacking basic hygiene. ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/32 "2023-03-08T04:36:33Z")
My MIL has to lick her fingers before she touches pretty much _anything._ Then she can’t just put something down, she has to pat it several times, I’m guessing to make sure it stays put. It’s an OCD thing with her, I’m sure. I love the woman dearly but that little quirk has always squigged me out. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/33 "2023-03-08T05:06:31Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > If one is at the cashier and must–for whatever reason–pay with cash but the ony two bills in your wallet are brand new and stuck together, how do you separate them without licking your fingers? Rub your fingers back and forth, with the bills between them. At least, that’s what i think i do. I have literally never licked my fingers to handle money, and i have separated brand new bills that wanted to stick together. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/34 "2023-03-08T11:47:30Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > How about licking fingers to open the produce bags (the ones that are on a roll) in a grocery store? Then root around the green peppers. UGH Supermarkets I go to have an apparatus that periodically sprays water on some of their produce. I head over to the nearest water sprayer when confounded by a stubborn plastic produce bag. mmm ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/35 "2023-03-08T14:09:12Z")
I just riffle the sides and rub them together like a plastic bag in the produce section. I’ve never had 2 bills stuck together THAT well, that they wouldn’t come apart with a little riffle and rub. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/36 "2023-03-08T14:12:46Z")
Right, I’ve never licked my fingers to handle ANYTHING and I think it is a bizarre and disgusting habit. Even besides the germ spreading aspect, you are gradually ruining everything you are touching. If you do it while turning the pages of a book, the pages will be nasty by the time you’ve read it once or twice. My in-laws’ decks of cards look like old business cards after a couple months of play because of how much saliva they’ve soaked up over time. You can’t shuffle or deal them properly anymore because of the extra wear and tear. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/37 "2023-03-08T16:13:47Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > [@TRC4941](#): > > > > How about licking fingers to open the produce bags (the ones that are on a roll) in a grocery store? Then root around the green peppers. UGH > > Supermarkets I go to have an apparatus that periodically sprays water on some of their produce. I head over to the nearest water sprayer when confounded by a stubborn plastic produce bag. > > mmm That’s what I do too! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/38 "2023-03-08T17:35:56Z")
I think that new bills will pop apart if you crumple them. At least it’s worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/39 "2023-03-08T17:59:00Z")
Bills don’t stick for but although honestly I am more paying with plastic … The plastic bags though … rubbing does not open them for me (cool dry hands) and putting your dirty fingers on the sprayer or even the spray that then goes over all the vegetables instead of just the one you are picking up? THAT’S disturbing! ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800/40 "2023-03-08T18:13:10Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Not washing shit off your hands before eating doesn’t make someone some kind of role model. It makes them disgusting and lacking basic hygiene. He’s got better hygiene than anyone working in an office. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finger-lickers-when-playing-games/980800.md?page=3)