# Tongs vs fingers and other odd things people do **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197 "2015-02-20T15:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/41 "2015-02-21T15:29:25Z")
If you grab the bagel with your fingers, obviously not touching any others, the other buffet patrons will glare at you with opprobrium. If you take a napkin and use it to hold the tongs, you might hear sotto voce “I thought Howard Hughes didn’t have any offspring.” Proper etiquette only grants the impunity to do what everyone else is doing. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/42 "2015-02-21T15:33:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That’s fine, but then they have to unlock the bathroom door and turn the handle (or push the door open) with their now pristine hands. It makes no sense. Sure it does. Nobody has pristine hands, but the hands of the employee who just washed and then touched the door handle have fewer bacteria and viruses on them than the employee who didn’t wash and then touched that same door handle. Hands aren’t in some binary clean/not-clean state; it’s a matter of reducing overall risk of disease transmission. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/43 "2015-02-21T15:38:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > There is no difference between wiping your ass and touching your pants, or wiping your ass and touching a door knob, coke machine, microwave, coffee-pot, copy machine, conference room table, etc… There is coliform bacteria everywhere, yes. But if you want to claim that casually touching my waistband transfers as much bacteria to my hands as wiping my freshly beshitted ass, you’re gonna need to make with the cites. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/44 "2015-02-21T15:44:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Speaking of restaurant bathrooms: It puzzles me that there are signs in some of these (the ones that double as customer/worker toilets) that tell employees that they must wash their hands twice before returning to work. That’s fine, but then they have to unlock the bathroom door and turn the handle (or push the door open) with their now pristine hands. It makes no sense. > > Then there are the public toilets that have ordinary faucets that you have to turn off with your hand once you’re done washing up. > > I guess this is all just a sop to the general public, who can’t seem to manage to connect one action to another in their brains, and who live in some sort of delusional bacteria-free world. The signs are usually required by law, couldn’t tell you why though. Also, some health inspectors strongly encourage you to put in the type of faucet that either uses peddles or the long handles that you can shut off with your elbows. This discussion always reminds me of that Seinfeld episode though. Unless Jerry followed the cook into the kitchen, he has know way of knowing whether or not he just washed his hands in there, which makes more sense, it’s what I do at work. Why wash my hands in the bathroom, then touch the gross door know. FTR, they do teach us in our food safety class to turn the knob with the paper towel and throw that away after exiting the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/45 "2015-02-21T15:44:34Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > There is coliform bacteria everywhere, yes. But if you want to claim that casually touching my waistband transfers as much bacteria to my hands as wiping my freshly beshitted ass, you’re gonna need to make with the cites. I’m not. But people who fear my unwashed hands will foul a doorknob more than they foul their own clothing are deluded. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/46 "2015-02-21T17:22:18Z")
I’m a store cashier. I’ve had people wipe the counter down with a wet nap before putting their items on it. Because you know other people’s items are so fucking disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/47 "2015-02-21T18:06:21Z")
> [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > Sure it does. Nobody has pristine hands, but the hands of the employee who just washed and then touched the door handle have fewer bacteria and viruses on them than the employee who didn’t wash and then touched that same door handle. Hands aren’t in some binary clean/not-clean state; it’s a matter of reducing overall risk of disease transmission. I guess my point was that after two hundred patrons touch those same surfaces after varying degrees of hand washing, it doesn’t make any sense to wash twice and then touch the exact same surfaces. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/48 "2015-02-21T19:28:01Z")
Ah, I missed that your focus was on the “twice.” Yeah, I don’t understand why washing your hands twice is any better than washing them well once, either. And back to the topic of gloves: I think they’re largely for public reassurance, and [some studies](http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/10/glove-use-doesnt-necessarily-mean-safer-food/#.VOirsTWElFQ) have shown that they may well lead to more cross contamination than the old hand washing regimen. I’m glad I’m no longer in the food service industry – I don’t think I would tolerate using the things well. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/49 "2015-02-22T03:19:39Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My favorite one was back when I was probably about 15 (before gloves were really used), I was at a Sabarro at the mall and asked for some pizza. The girl spit out her gum, in her hand, and then grabbed my pizza. I very loudly said “did you just spit your gum out in your hand and then grab my pizza?” and she replied “I spit my gum in _this hand_ and grabbed your pizza in _this hand_” and I said “That’s disgusting” and walked away. > I mean, yeah, she did spit it in one hand and grab the pizza with her other hand, but still, it was gross. > [@running\_coach](#): > > Why the hell did she need to spit out her gum in the first place? Why was she chewing gum in the first place? When I worked fast food, we weren’t allowed to chew gum when working. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/50 "2015-02-22T03:38:23Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’m a store cashier. I’ve had people wipe the counter down with a wet nap before putting their items on it. Because you know other people’s items are so fucking disgusting. OTOH, those conveyor belts at supermarket checkouts can get grotty, in between wipe-downs. I save brown paper bags and bring them with me to the store, to re-use them. Just doing my part to save the earth. But I also put them down on the conveyor belt and pile my food stuff (especially the less heavily packaged items) on them. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/51 "2015-02-22T03:43:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I guess my point was that after two hundred patrons touch those same surfaces after varying degrees of hand washing, it doesn’t make any sense to wash twice and then touch the exact same surfaces. Why is this bathroom different from all other bathrooms? In all other bathrooms, we wash just once, but in this bathroom we wash twice. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/52 "2015-02-22T04:19:35Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’m not. But people who fear my unwashed hands will foul a doorknob more than they foul their own clothing are deluded. You’re missing the point. Nobody’s arguing that grabbing your potentially crap-contaminated waistband isn’t going to contaminate your fingers. What we’re saying is that ok, so you pull your pants up and contaminate your pants. Got it… your pants are contaminated where you pulled them up. That doesn’t decontaminate your hands. You can still wipe crap on the door handle, coke machine, coffee pot, keyboard, etc… So wash your hands. Then the only contaminated spot will be your waistband, which I’m guessing you don’t really finger all that often anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/53 "2015-02-22T04:48:03Z")
I think people sometimes use tongs needlessly because they think it’s “right.” I once saw a woman try to eat bacon with a fork. She did finally cut through a slice but watching her balancing it across the tines was a hoot. There’s no limit to the ends people will go to try to appear genteel. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/54 "2015-02-22T04:57:14Z")
I think it’s weird people get squicked out about sharing a toothbrush with the person they have sex with. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/55 "2015-02-22T05:05:59Z")
All this BS with regards to clean is so overboard that having weak & infective immune systems is now normal. IMO YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/56 "2015-02-22T20:13:07Z")
Remind me never to shake hands with **Fear Itself**. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/57 "2015-02-23T06:12:31Z")
Why I no longer eat at salad bars: Back when I was working nights in NYC, I used to stop at the Korean grocery before work, and pick up some salad bar. Until the time when a homeless man came in to the grocery, stuffed a whole hard-boiled egg into his mouth . . . and replaced it in the bowl. The Grocer watched him. and said and did nothing. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197/58 "2015-02-23T23:45:50Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I think people sometimes use tongs needlessly because they think it’s “right.” I once saw a woman try to eat bacon with a fork. She did finally cut through a slice but watching her balancing it across the tines was a hoot. There’s no limit to the ends people will go to try to appear genteel. Bacon really isn’t considered a finger food outside the US, maybe she was European? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongs-vs-fingers-and-other-odd-things-people-do/713197.md?page=2)