# Who else gets creeped out by this common practice. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392 "2009-03-31T02:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/81 "2009-04-01T01:24:59Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > THis reminds me of a wonderful bit in Ralph Leighton’s book [Tuva or Bust](http://www.amazon.com/Tuva-Bust-Richard-Feynmans-Journey/dp/0393320693/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238543744&sr=8-1) about traveling via train through the old Soviet Union to get to Tuva. The train chambermaid brought them glasses of sweetened tea, and later he looked to see how she washed the glasses. She just swished them in warm water - pretty much the ideal medium for bacterial growth. The end result? Everyone had a mild sore throat then was perfectly fine the rest of the trip. **Not** being germophobic provided them with an inoculation against anything they were likely to encounter on the rest of their trip. Sadly, a mild sore throat rendered them unemployable in Tuva. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/82 "2009-04-01T01:55:35Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Yep. Boyo Jim was asking because he wondered how they could even have children or sleep together if they are that worried about germs. kittenblue answered that yes, they do both, not that the kids sleep with them. D’oh! :smack: (Oh, and THIS OCD girl would definitely eat the cake, because I’ve never really had a germ phobia-mine were about other things. I’d NEVER turn down cake. Unless the kid had a huge cold and was just hacked all over the damned thing) ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/83 "2009-04-01T02:06:48Z")
A quick perusal of Wikipedia tells me that the tradition of birthday cake candles originated in the 1700s. The germ theory of disease was proven in the 1870s, and probably took longer to become widely known. Maybe the tradition of blowing out those candles just needs to die out, with various other pre-rational superstitions. I’ve never been squeamish about cake before, but honestly, blowing germs and spit on cake doesn’t really add value. We know more about health now than we did when we decided it would be fun to blow out candles on cake. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/84 "2009-04-01T02:27:00Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Upon reading this thread, I have come to realize that oral sex can always be had with some people. It just depends on strategic placement of a donut. Donut? Where? Of course I love you 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/85 "2009-04-01T02:38:47Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > As for the OP, you HAVE to tell us about your sister-in-law and her reaction to the HPV vaccine. Was it just the standard “encouraging sexual promiscuity?” Or something even stranger? > > And the kids still sleep with their parents? How old are they? As gigi cleared up, the kids don’t sleep with the parents…the girls are 18 now! I just remembered that the sister-in-law has the beginnings of Multiple Sclerosis, and is taking medication for it. I wonder if that means she has some issues about immune systems…but she teaches high school and is around kids all day…I’ve never noticed any Extreme Measures on her part before. As to the HPV thing… I urged both my sister and sister-in-law to get the HPV vaccine for their teenage girls, so they could avoid the hassle and stress and pain my daughter went through ten years ago. None of the girls were sexually active then, and not likely to follow the path my daughter did, but I felt it was best for them to be vaccinated before they could possibly need it, and while they were covered by insurance. Sister-in-law (who I believe had a hysterectomy because of cancer, though I’m not sure)said, and I quote, “Not going to get them vaccinated. If they get cancer, they get cancer.” She has never indicated she is anti-vaccine, and she didn’t say it had anything to do with their sexual activity or lack there of. I was so stunned that she said this, and in a setting where the girls MIGHT have heard her, that I just shut up and walked away. I’m sure the girls have gotten information at school about this. I hope they get vaccinated before heading to college in a few months. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/86 "2009-04-01T02:58:35Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You just now figured out why doughnuts have holes? > > How quaint… I just never understood why the holes were so small. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/87 "2009-04-01T03:01:14Z")
> [@BoBettie](#): > > Seriously, I would eat cake that someone licked. Life is short, you can’t be worrying about shit like that unless you are immunocomprimised. I just have to say, **BoBettie** , you rock! My sentiments exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/88 "2009-04-01T03:13:35Z")
I saw that episode of _Food Detectives_, and I think they did a pretty shoddy job. They tested the number of bacteria on various cakes (not blown on, a few candles, candles blown out by a kid, a cake with lots of candles), but they never tested what _type_ of bacteria were present. Humans have tons of normal, beneficial bacteria in their bodies, [(Human Flora)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_flora) so the mere presence of unspecified bacteria on cake doesn’t freak me out. Also, I am actually _immunosuppressed_ due to medication I’m taking for a chronic health condition, and I wouldn’t hesitate to eat birthday cake with blown out candles. I’m more concerned about frequent handwashing to decrease spread of disease; I think far too many people don’t wash their hands often enough - not just after going to the washroom, but a few times per day in addition to that. It’s impossible to live in a bubble, but if you want to do one thing to decrease your chance of getting sick, you should wash your hands. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/89 "2009-04-01T03:18:37Z")
I have never heard of this before. I take this as a sign I don’t have many OCD weirdos in my life, and I am thankful for this. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/90 "2009-04-01T05:15:51Z")
As regards the OP… It could have been a superstition thing - there are at least two religions that don’t celebrate birthdays right? If she, even nominally follows one of them, or was brought up under one of them maybe directly eating something that has been used to celebrate a birthday may be tricky. I remember we organised a McDonald’s party for my daughter’s third birthday at her school - there was one boy that couldn’t take the food because of the family’s religious beliefs. (he was quite upset and my reaction was that it wasn’t really very fair set of expectations to be placed on him by his parents - but that’s another matter) As to eating cake that’s been blown on? Hey, as has already been said - cake is cake. I don’t give two hoots. To challenging our immune systems - part of the reason why bugs are getting stronger and more resistant is that we use too many drugs to kill them - so they get the evolution thing happening - sometimes the best long term solution really is to just let the bugs run their course and fight them via our natural immune system - oh, and FTR - America is one of the worst culprits when it comes to oversubscribing antibiotics, which IS causing very real problems in many places now. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/91 "2009-04-01T16:13:47Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > It could have been a superstition thing - there are at least two religions that don’t celebrate birthdays right? My brother-in-law belongs to one, but I’m not sure which---- which one has an exemption for your own birthday? ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/92 "2009-04-01T18:41:35Z")
Me! Me! Well, only briefly. When I was around 8 or 9 I was at a birthday party where the birthday boy had a wicked head cold. He was all bleary-eyed and snotty and overall sick looking like he was going to drop dead any second, he blew all over the cake and I got grossed out and didn’t eat any. I probably went to two or three birthday parties after that and didn’t eat the cake, but I outgrew the aversion pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392/93 "2009-04-01T23:53:24Z")
It happened to me once at one of my previous jobs - I got the cake for a lady that had a birthday (I was a social office person back then, not the bitter mistanthrope I am now), put the candles on it, and when D… (the birthday person) and our other colleagues came into the kitchen, I lit the candles and asked her to blow on them. She said “oh no, if I blow out the candles no one can eat the cake!” I said “huh?” and after several people tried to encourage her to blow them out and the candles were at risk of melting the frosting, I just said “OK then I’ll do it” and blew out the candles myself. D… refused to have any of her own birthday cake. I felt bad for her while I was eating her piece - it was a delicious carrot cake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-gets-creeped-out-by-this-common-practice/491392.md?page=4)