# How germaphobic are you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042 "2013-04-29T20:06:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/1 "2013-04-29T20:06:44Z")
I took this [quiz](http://www.gotoquiz.com/how_germaphobic_are_you) and got 77%. Curious to see how other Dopers score on this… ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/2 "2013-04-29T20:15:14Z")
I am 21% germaphobic. Honestly, I’m surprised I scored that high. I place myself firmly in the “God made dirt; dirt don’t hurt” camp. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/3 "2013-04-29T20:16:24Z")
Damn, I got a 0%. (although some of the questions don’t seem relevant to the subject) ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/4 "2013-04-29T20:21:06Z")
39%. I thought the last question was really weird. Anyone who washes their hands after they go to the bathroom would wash their hands 5 times or more per day, unless they went to the bathroom less than five times a day. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/5 "2013-04-29T20:22:13Z")
I got 1%. Interestingly, the site told me “congratulations, you are 1% germaphobic.” Do they congratulate everyone or are they glad I’m not a germaphobe? ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/6 "2013-04-29T20:23:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Damn, I got a 0%. (although some of the questions don’t seem relevant to the subject) To get 0%, you would have had to answer all the nastiest answers. This means that you selected, “hardly at all, even if i have used the bathroom…” for an answer to, “how many times a day do you wash your hands honestly…” :dubious: By the way, I selected, “any time there is opportunity” for that question. 😃 > [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > 39%. I thought the last question was really weird. Anyone who washes their hands after they go to the bathroom would wash their hands 5 times or more per day, unless they went to the bathroom less than five times a day. That’s exactly what I was thinking. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/7 "2013-04-29T20:25:20Z")
I selected “maybe once or twice, if i have gone to the bathroom” and I still got zero. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/8 "2013-04-29T20:27:37Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I selected “maybe once or twice, if i have gone to the bathroom” and I still got zero. That’s interesting. 😕 Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/9 "2013-04-29T20:35:27Z")
10%. I think the best way to have a strong immune system is to force it to work hard everyday to deal with all of the nasties in the environment. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/10 "2013-04-29T20:36:33Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > To get 0%, you would have had to answer all the nastiest answers. This means that you selected, “hardly at all, even if i have used the bathroom…” for an answer to, “how many times a day do you wash your hands honestly…” > . They asked for honesty. I hardly ever wash my hands. ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/11 "2013-04-29T20:37:42Z")
58%. > [@kayT](#): > > I got 1%. Interestingly, the site told me “congratulations, you are 1% germaphobic.” Do they congratulate everyone or are they glad I’m not a germaphobe? They congratulated me too, so I’m guessing they do that for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/12 "2013-04-29T20:39:19Z")
8% here. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/13 "2013-04-29T20:42:54Z")
I also got a 0%. My answers were: 1. 31 to 40 2. Female 3. i don’t really think about it… 4. Give it up without a problem…you don’t care 5. Head straight for the 'fridge 6. remove it and keep eating… 7. soap?..i bathe in the lake! 8. fine… 9. do nothing 10. Nothing. 11. No, but you find a way to make it unoffensive to them 12. 3-4 13. 5 times or more It wasn’t clear to me which answers they considered more or less germy on some of the questions, but my answers for 11, 12, and 13 in particular are nowhere near the “nastiest” options. They’re just the non-crazypeople options. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/14 "2013-04-29T20:44:08Z")
31% - I’m not germaphobic about sharing deodorant - I just don’t want to do it. ick ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/15 "2013-04-29T20:47:15Z")
I got 16%, which sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/16 "2013-04-29T20:47:57Z")
Some of those questions are stupid. I’d feel “a little awkward” if someone I just met kissed me, but only because that seems a little overly intimate. I wouldn’t even think about germs as an issue. Similarly, I wouldn’t ever share deodorant, because in my mind, that’s sort of like sharing a toothbrush - just a bit too intimate for a causal acquaintance. I wouldn’t care if my wife wanted to for some bizarre reason. Again - nothing at all to do with germs. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/17 "2013-04-29T20:48:34Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > 31% - I’m not germaphobic about sharing deodorant - I just don’t want to do it. ick I wouldn’t \*want \*to share deodorant, but to help out a friend in an emergency I’d go along. ETA: What does watching someone eating with mouth open have to do with germs? Assuming you’re more than a few inches away. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/18 "2013-04-29T20:48:36Z")
51% for me. I can’t decide if that’s good, or bad. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/19 "2013-04-29T20:52:10Z")
Huh. 39% I am so not a germaphobe, too. I spent a summer inspecting septic systems. Just to prove it, I’m going to swing by the truck stop on the way home and lick the rim of a urinal. (I hope there’s no hair) ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042/20 "2013-04-29T20:53:09Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > ETA: What does watching someone eating with mouth open have to do with germs? Assuming you’re more than a few inches away. That’s what I thought. You see, it’s quite evident that I am quite germaphobic. Even _I_ chose “Do nothing,” for that question because it has nothing to do with germs. Unfortunately, that’s how online quizzes are. They are not really the best quality. I noticed that some questions were irrelevant too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-germaphobic-are-you/657042.md?page=2)