Science Confirms the Obvious: People Wash Their Hands More When They're Watched
A new public health study released just in time for Global Handwashing Day (today!) offers not one but two gems of Science-Confirms-the-Obvious wisdom. Firstly: the gee-whizzer that men have poorer personal hygiene than women. Secondly, that people are more likely to wash their hands when others are watching. In an aim to find the most effective message to encourage handwashing in public toilets, a research team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine installed a LED screen at the doorway of a gas-station toilet on a British highway. It flashed a series of messages employing a variety of tactics familiar to anyone with a mother, such as: Educating: "Water doesn't kill germs, soap does." Nagging: "Don't be a dope -- wash with soap!" The Gross-out: "Soap it off or eat it later" (My personal favorite.) The Hairy eyeball: "Is the person next to you washing with soap?" Wireless sensors...