The guy who stocks the machine has dirty hands, the guy who stocks the cooler at the convenience store has dirty hands, and who knows who stocked the boxes at the factory? How many of you- I’d like as big a survey as possible- have ever, or periodically, don’t buy canned drinks b/c of the dirtiness of the can lip? You don’t have to be paranoid about germs to avoid those…
I don’t ‘not buy’ them because of the germs. But I do wipe every lip of every drink I buy…Even a beer at a pub.
Seems to me that philosophy will eventually have you living in a hermetically sealed hotel suite collecting toenails in a jar.
The world is a dirty place. If you’re worried about catching something from a soda can, don’t go near public transportation. Or doorknobs.
I have never even thought of letting that stop me.
Of course, on this last camping trip I took, I let the dog drink the ice water out of the cooler, which grossed out my friend. “Eh, it’s just a little dog slobber,” I said, as I cracked another beer.
Never occurred to me.
And now that it has – I doubt I’ll start worrying about it.
When I lived in Atlanta back in the 90s, I was surprised that whenever I ordered a can of Soda Pop, it always came open & with a straw in it. I figured “When in Rome…”
I rarely drink soda, but I drink a lot of beer. It would not have occurred to me to drink beer through a straw, but perhaps next time I tip a couple I’ll try it. 
I don’t care. I hate germophobes. It is like they microfocus on a few aspects of microbiology while ignoring the big picture. I drink from cans and probably would still do so if I saw the janitor come straight from cleaning the toilet to loading the coke machine. I share drinks with people. My 3 year old sticks her fingers in my water glasses. I am sure that my immune system is all the better for it.
Germs don’t scare me (unless you’re talking about hospital germs. Now THOSE scare me). I’ll rinse off a can if it has obvious funk on it, but other than that, it’s bottom’s up!
Does that make you a germophobephobe?
Okay, but now that we’ve heard from all the people who say no, never thought of it, can we just stick to those who have? Keep in mind that women- no offense here- tend to be more germophobic than men, and that’s NOT A BAD THING AND NO I DON’T NEED A LECTURE ON GENDER STEREOTYPES IT’S A FACT AND I MEAN NO OFFENSE. 
Well you said you wanted as big a survey as possible…
:smack: Of course. Carry on.
I’m a girl who is easily “ewwwwwww”- ed out. I’ve never thought to wipe the edge of a soda can. Of course, I caught mono in high school because all my friends and I shared drinks. Hrm, you’d think I would learn. . .
Nah.
Ahhh. Unlike them, I fear nothing. I just hate them.
Cite? Cuz, like, every single germophobe I have known or even heard of has been male…
I do kind of prefer to pour the drink into a glass–partly because I like lots of ice, but also because I tend to imagine rats running around on flats of sodapop cans in a warehouse. But, if I have no glass, I will drink from the can with equanimity.
I despise drinking from cans, but only because I much prefer my sodas over ice. Like others have mentioned, I’ll wipe the can off if it’s obviously gunky, but usually I’ll just open it and drink. If desperation has forced me to drink it without ice, that same desperation allows me little worry for germs. 
Let’s just say that I’ve seen rats nest in between stacked pallets of soda and beer at a Price Club (now Costco) years ago, and the rats had no problem using their nest as a bathroom.
<Insert Barf Smilie Here>
I wipe the top of any can of soda I might drink, although I don’t drink canned soda (or any soda) all that often anyway. I won’t share a can of anything with anybody, it’s gross. I don’t drink beer out of cans.
I don’t care unless the can’s obviously dirty/sticky. Then I’ll wipe it with whatever is at hand. I’m not too fuzzy about what I eat/drink - unless it smells suspicious - and I’ve never ran into any problems with that strategy.