Top 10 Dirtiest Things in Your House

Well, it's the second time my post get denied, anyway, it isn't a big deal. So I want to share it here. Enjoy ! ( Make sure you're not eating while reading this post :) )

“The closest things to us are the ones that hurt us most”. This statement is right for the following list of 10 dirtiest things in out house. Ironically, we use them everyday, and may forget the fact that they could become extremely filthy.

10. Toilet seat 

Don’t let the white, smooth surface tricks your eyes, because the toilet seat is the host to many sorts of viruses. Remember to wash your hands after using toilet !

Obviously, it’s the first thing to be called as the dirtiest thing in our house. So, people always try to keep the toilet seat and toilet bowl as clean as possible, even on a daily basis. The result is, the toilet seat is way cleaner and safer than other things down in this list. On the average toilet seat there’re 50 bacteria per square inch, according to some scientific researches .

9. Cellphone

Cellphone is , no doubt, the best friend of modern man and woman in this era. And, it’s as filthy as a uncleaned toilet seat !Just consider how many times in a single day that we talk, SMS, play games on the phone,how many nasty surfaces it contacts… you can imagine how many germs it contains. The cellphone also produces heat all the time, which makes it a perfect place to “incubate” germs. In fact, the cellphone has more than 18 times the germs than the flush handle.

Solution ? Use an anti-microbial coating for the phone, and wash your hands after using it.

8. Door knob

It can come in different sizes and shapes, colors and materials. But door knob has 1 single use : the very first item we touch before entering our home, office or any places, and most likely one of the last items we think to clean. Just think about the number of times it is touched by unwashed hands, the door knob is no doubt a ideal placefor spreading viruses and diseases. Door knobs in rest room are extremely filthy. Watch out !

Solution : Luckily, the door knob is easy to disinfect with a cloth and rubbing alcohol. Apply the mixture to the cloth and start cleaning.

7.Light switch

Another tiny and popular thing. We use it every day to control light in our offices, at home. It isn’t hard to imagine how many viruses and germs lurking around that plastic surface, which is touched by dirty fingers countless times. Although germs and viruses can survive only a few hours on hard surface like light switch ( they grow well in warmth and moisture), but being contacted again and again every day make light switch a real health hazard.

Solution : Rub it with a little alcohol on a cotton swab, then wipe with a clean cloth. In public place, wash your hands after touching it.

6. Remote control

The remote control is used every day. It’s something that most of us couldn’t live without and may be the least cleaned item in our house. It can be tossed around in the house and has the germ covered on its surface. Some of us prefer having snack while watching TV, the snack remnants could get stuck in the remote , then they become nutrition for germs to grow. Similar to door knob and light switch, continuous contact with dirty fingers makes the remote control a place that transmit infections and diseases.

Solution : Remember to clean and disinfect it regularly.

5.Refrigerator

Refrigerator helps us to preserve food for later use. In fact, we often consider it’s the last place for viruses to grow due to the low temperature, low moisture and, of course, the hygiene-looking appearance. That’s why people don’t clean it as regular as it should be. Of course,harmful viruses and germs can’t grow under low temperature and moisture, but they can’t be killed yet. Refrigerator is the place where raw materials and cooked dishes are put really close. The viruses can spread from raw meat, vegetable, fish.. to the cooked meal.

Solution : Clean your refrigerator once a month.

4. Computer keyboard

Scientists claim that the keyboard has 4 times more germs than the toilet seat ! Like cellphone, keyboard is our friend in modern world. Some of us love it so much that they often take lunch in front of the PC, and food remnants make ways for bacteria to grow, which transform the keyboard to a source of food poisoning

Solution : Avoid having meals in front of keyboard. Clean it by turning it upside down and shaking hard to remove all the keyboard plague, wipe the surface with antibacterial solution. Wash your hands after using keyboard before having meal. Do the same with your mouse.

3. Kitchen sink

I can’t recall the last time I cleaned my kitchen sink. And maybe I’m not the only one ! While the bathroom could be disinfected more than 3 times a week, the kitchen sink doesn’t get that chance regularly. Put them all together : the food from our parties, warm and moist environment from water and lack of sunlight, now you have almost the ideal place for bacteria to spread..T here’re 500,000 bacteria per square inch in the kitchen sink drain alone, imagine how dirty is the rest of the sink ?

Solution : Remember to wash your sink with bleach regularly, which can also get rid of the smell caused by food debris that’s collected in the drain.

2. Cutting board

Cutting board has so many germs that some say it’s better to chop your food on the toilet seat instead ! Well, maybe they just exaggerated.

But here’s the fact, while wooden cutting boards are great for mincing, dicing, chopping, it also acts like a breeding place for viruses. An average cutting board has about 200 times more faecal bacteria than a toilet seat Most of them come from raw meat products , vegetable, animal hair. Some of them can be stuck in the crack on the cutting board, just washing it with water can’t get rid of them.

To make thing worse, some of us tend to use one cutting board to prepare all the raw material, fruits, and cooked dishes. This action is highly prohibited since it lead to dangerous virus transmission.

Solution : Clean it with dish detergent or bleach while brushing the surface to get rid of the remnants. Make them dry in the sun. Use separate cutting board for raw material, fruits, vegetable, and cooked dishes. Replace them after 6 months

1. Kitchen sponge

 

The most shocking fact is that the kitchen sponge is by far the dirtiest thing in your house. A sponge has about 10 million bacteria per square inch, in other words, it’s 200,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat ! This makes kitchen sponge the most hazardous item in your house.

It has desired conditions for bacteria to grow :food remnants, damp surface (sponge has the ability to keep water inside) and warm.

Solution : Use a sponge to wash your plates under hot water is OK, but never use a sponge to wipe them clean. Make the sponge dry in direct sunlight, and replace a new one after 1 - 2 months.

 Hope you enjoy this post. :)

Top ten famous rivalries in human history

I submitted this post to Listverse weeks ago, but was rejected due to narrow approach. Well, it took me a day to complete, and I thought it's harmless to post it here.

In this list, I concluded top famous rivalries in human history, especially in science and technology.

Our world could be a boring place without competition. And competition itself may lose all its meaning without the presense of rivals. The continuous struggles between them with different philosophies, opinion can be fiercely, but the results have significant impact on the world we know today. So here you go - list of the most famous rivalries in human history. Tell me which one you like the most in the comments.

10. Rich Dad vs Poor Dad

It’s not clear whether these two are real or just a figment of the author’s imagination. But, whatever people said, the endlessly battle between the two ideas of financial life is the keypoint in Kiyosaki’s books. These two tried to protect their own mottos, mindsets, philosophies about “ good life” in a changing world. While Poor Dad supported the idea of job security, “loyalty to your boss” and good salary, Rich Dad showed a more risky, but interesting route to financial independence.

Take a look at this lists, can you see how different their thinkings are ?

Poor Dad says: “Go to school, graduate and find a job”
Rich Dad says:  “Go to school, graduate and build your own business”

Poor Dad says: “Get a safe, secure job.”
Rich Dad says: “Mind your own business.”

Poor Dad says: “Work for money.”
Rich Dad says: “Let money work for you.”

Poor Dad says: “Pay your creditors first.”
Rich Dad says: “Pay yourself first.”

Poor Dad says: “I can't afford it.”
Rich Dad says: “How can I buy it ?”

Poor Dad says: “Investing is risky.”
Rich Dad says: “Not investing is risky.”

Poor Dad says: “Your house is an asset.”
Rich Dad says: “Your house is a liability.”

Poor Dad says: “The rich are greedy.”
Rich Dad says: “The rich are generous.”


Poor Dad says: “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
Rich Dad says: “The lack of money is the root of all evil.”




Although they didn’t like each other style, but both showed a mutual respect ( as said in the book )

Rich Dad and Poor Dad or Asset vs Liability

9. Galileo vs Pope Urban VIII/ The Church

One of the most epic battles in human history. Back in his time, when the church power wasn’t something one can tamper with, Galileo dared to promote the heliocentric theory of Copernicus ( which states that the sun is at the center of the solar system ).

This was considered a smack at the face of Pope Urban VIII and the church itself, since heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which was supported greatly by the Roman Catholic Church at that time.

As a result,Galileo was charged with heresy, then sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life.

This clash always represents not only the long-lasting feud between science and religion, but also the braveness of mankind who is willing to risk everything to defend the truth.

8. Newton vs Leibniz

Although calculus is considered the cutting-edge tool in mathematics, I don’t feel any love for this, and know that many students may share the same feeling.

Newton and Leibniz were the stars at their field. And we had the great star wars when it came to this sweet-sounding title “ The father of calculus”.

And, the title went to…

Both of them.

Some says it’s just a long, useless battle to prove who really invented calculus, because each one had been already famous for their work, so what’s the big deal of another tiny mathematical tool ?

Because although they took different approaches to find out calculus, but the result was very much the same.

Maybe they didn’t think so.

7. Cope vs Marsh

It should be  Edward Drinker Cope vs Othniel Charles Marsh ( in full name )
They were both talented paleontologist whose discoveries and contributors were really remarkable. A personal feud between these two led to a famous, intense fossil-finding competition known as “The Bone Wars”, in which they used some dirty method to beat the other, including bribery, theft, attacking other’s scientific publications. Why ? To ruin the opponent ‘s credibility. ( Geez, they acted as if they’re hunting each other, not the fossils )

Although the goal wasn’t good ( so were their financial and social state after the expedition ), their contributions to science and the field of paleontology were really impressive. In Bone Wars, many rich bone beds was discovered, where many new spieces of dinosaurs were found and described later. The Bone Wars also triggered the public’s interest in paleontology , which led to continuous fossils excavation in the following decades.

Cope vs Marsh

6. Einstein vs Bohr

Einstein : “God does not play dice”
Bohr : “Einstein, stop telling God what to do”

Albert Einstein, is often regarded as the father of modern physics, was a German-born theoretical physicist who was awarded with the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. He’s well-known for developing the general theory of relativity and E = mc2, which was considered the world’s most famous equation.

Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his contribution to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics. His work also included the Bohr model of hydrogen atom which can be used to explain atomic spectrum in the light of quantum.

The dispute between these two is called The Bohr - Einstein Debates, in which they show opposing opinion about quantum mechanics. Since they’re both founders of this field, these debates were very remarkable. Bohr has written an article titled “Discussions with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics” which included deep information about these discussions.

But I love to see that, although arguing mercilessly about quantum mechanics, both Einstein and Bohr had mutual admiration, which lasted for the rest of their lives ( as shown in this picture )

A.Einstein ( left ) and N.Bohr( right )

5. Hawking vs Susskind

Whenever there’s a clash between titans, there’s remarkable war to be remembered.

Ladies and gentlement, here comes “The Black Hole war” with our two warriors, Prof. Stephen Hawking and Prof.Leonard Susskind.

Their main topic is about the preservation of information once it fall into the black hole. Hawking proposed that the information could be lost. But his theory was confronted by Susskind, who argued that Hawking’s conclusion violated the basic law of the universe, which states that the information is preserved.

Honestly, I don’t understand anything about this topic, but witnessing another great war between geniuses is always great.

If you want to know more, have a look at this book by Prof. Susskind : The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics

4. Edison vs Tesla

A symbol for this famous rivalry is ( another war ! ) The War of The Currents which happened between Thomas Edison, with the direct-current ( DC ) current system, and Nikola Tesla, master of the alternative-current ( AC ) technology.Edison didn’t want the AC to be applied in electricity distribution due to the fact that his DC had been already the standard in the US at that time. He claimed that the DC system was better than AC since it maintained a lower voltage from power station to consumer, and, thus, was safer.

But Tesla had his own explanation, too. AC current has more advantages than the DC current does, due to the fact that it is easier to transmit and prevent loss in transmission.

While it could be considered a personal feud, this war was in fact the clash between America and Europe companies which stood behind the curtain.

But, as you know, the result of this war was obvious. However, this conflict became an important mark in the history of electrical engineering.

3. Cryptographer vs Code-breaker

From ancient to modern times, the government always relies on the communicating network to operate the country effectively. But, due to the fact that the secrets could be leaked to the public or enemy and cause serious problem ( Example : Wikileaks ! ), this fact has led to the born of cryptography, the art of concealing information.

Cryptography makes sure that only the recipient himself can read the content. Meanwhile, the codebreaking system was born with another mission : Try to find and exploit the weakness of each cipher, in order to reveal the truth. The continuous struggle between these two forces is similar to the evolution itself. Since each time a cipher is invented, the code breaker will try to find a way to “decipher” it. Once a cipher is broken, it becomes useless, then the cryptographer must try to invent a more complex and powerful one, which in turn invites the code breaker to decipher it.

This rivalry has led to many impressive science breakthroughs, and impact significantly to the human history.

You might want to have a glance at this interesting book, which was my favorite title about code and cryptography : The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

2. Thomas Jefferson vs Alexander Hamilton

In my opinion, this is one of the most interesting rivalries in American history. Alexander Hamiltion, leader of the Federalists, and Thomas Jefferson, leader of the Antifederalists. Both of them are important founding fathers of America. But they have so many differences in the past, appearance, and philosophies ( which mainly about the vision of the government ). For example, Hamilton feared anarchy and thought in terms of order; Jefferson, feared tyranny, his mind, in contrast, jumped from topic to topic.
What happened when these two completely different individuals had to work together ? Good or bad ? Well, I believe America was really lucky to have these two gentlement at the same time. Because once they fused their philosophies together for the sake of the nation, the outcome was impressive.

Thomas Jefferson vs Alexander Hamilton

1. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates

There have been countless arguments about this question : Who’s the greatest among these two ? Some says Jobs, some says Gates. But in my opinion, it’s no point trying to do such a comparison.

They’re very similar to Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton : they are totally different. In my viewpoint, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs only shares three things in common : year of birth ( 1955), the love for technology and business, and, last but not least, both left the school to pursue their own dreams.

The path they took to achieve it was different, too. Since the approach was different, so was the outcome. Bill Gates aimed for “broad development”, which made Microsoft the biggest company. We can see its products everywhere, but this approach comes with the cost of creativity and originality.

Steve Jobs, on the other hand, focused on “deep development”, which produced outstanding products with highest quality and originality. This philosophy turned Apple into the most creative and valuable company, but this approach has its weakness, too. What happened to Apple without its main inspiration, Steve Jobs ?

It’s no surprise they’ve been long time rival since the beginning of this Information Era. Each of them criticized the other. Steve Jobs once said that Gates was “basically unimaginative and has never invented anything”, while Gates thought that Jobs “never knew much about technology”.

Although some of the words may sound bitter, but like any titans in their own fields, they sure admired and respected each other's work. As Steve Jobs said in 1994 :” I like Bill very much, … the companies we built were very different from each other.” And Bill Gates :” I will miss Steve immensely”

Here're some pics about these couple at their young age. Hot and sexy guys, aren't they ?
This book describes every detail of their relationship,I love to read it : Steve Jobs