Don't forget to wipe before you swipe! Japan tests toilet paper for smartphones in airport bathrooms
- Japan's Narita International Airport is testing ‘toilet paper for smartphones'
- 86 stalls were equip with rolls that sit next to traditional toilet paper on the wall
- Users pull what they need, wipe the screen and just flush the paper
- It's in response to studies showing that phones carry germs than toilets
Japan has taken its pride for cleanliness to a new level with ‘toilet paper for smartphones’.
The hygiene sheets sit in a dispenser next to the traditional roll and each piece lists instructions on how to properly clean your handset.
Although it is just an experiment, the paper is in response to studies showing that smartphones carry at least 10 times more germs than toilets.
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Japan has taken its pride for cleanliness to a new level with ‘toilet paper for smartphones’. The hygiene sheets sit in a dispenser next to the traditional roll and each sheet lists instructions on how to properly clean your handset
The bizarre novelty is currently being tested in arrivals terminal of Narita International Airport and are much smaller than traditional toilet paper.
They were installed in 86 stalls of the seven restrooms by NTT Docomo, a mobile phone operator in Japan, on December 16, reports The Mainichi.
Not only is the toilet paper used to wipe away germs from the screen, but it also includes information about WiFi and a travel guide app, called jspeak, which has a voice translation function.
An instructional video released by NTT Docomo explains how to use the ‘toilet paper’.
‘First take the amount of paper you need, fold it up and clean your smartphone screen thoroughly,’ the video explains.
‘After you’re done, you can flush it away.
In many cases, bacteria found on your smartphone is relatively harmless and comes from touching unclean surfaces or not washing your hands properly.
But in others, the bacteria found can lead to infections such as food poisoning, impetigo and even septicaemia.
To study the level of dirt on a person’s phone, students studying bacteriology at the University of Surrey imprinted their mobile phones on to so-called ‘bacterial growth medium’ in Petri dishes.
After three days, they studied the bacteria that had grown in the dishes - and were shocked by what they discovered.
On a number of occasions, the disease-carrying bacteria Staphylococcus aureus was discovered.
It is thought that 20 per cent of people are long-term carriers of the bug, which often lurks inside the nasal passages.
Many healthy people carry these bacteria on their skin and in their noses without getting sick.
But when skin is punctured or broken, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause infections.
They were installed in 86 stalls of the seven restrooms in the terminal by NTT Docomo, a mobile phone operator in Japan, on December 16 and are fixed on the wall next to the traditional rolls of toilet paper
Users simple pull what they need, wipe the screen and just flush the paper. Although it is just an experiment, the paper is in response to studies showing that smartphone carry at least 10 times more germs than toilets
It is a common cause of Staph infections including food poisoning, impetigo and even septicaemia.
And Staph bacteria can easily spread through contaminated surfaces and from person to person.
Another bacteria spotted was Bacillus mycoides.
Students from the University of Surrey imprinted their phones into Petri dishes (pictured) containing so-called ‘bacterial growth medium’. After three days, they studied the bacteria that had grown in the dishes
In many cases, the bacteria discovered was relatively harmless, but on a number of occasions, the disease-carrying bacteria Staphylococcus aureus was discovered. It is thought that 20 per cent of people are long-term carriers of the bug, which often lurks inside the nasal passages
This bacteria is typically found in soil, which suggests the phone or its user had been in contact with soil recently.
Bacillus mycoides are found in common pesticides and are used to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi.
The experiment forms part of the course work for Dr Simon Park’s Practical and Biomedical Bacteriology course.
Each year, Dr Park asks his students to imprint their phones, and this collection of images are from the most recent experiment.
Many healthy people carry Staphylococcus aureus on their skin and in their noses without getting sick.But when skin is punctured or broken, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause infections. It is a common cause of Staph infections including food poisoning, impetigo and even septicaemia
Dr Park said: 'It seems that the mobile phone doesn’t just remember telephone numbers, but also harbors a history of our personal and physical contacts such as other people, soil and other matter'
'As part of [the course] I get the students to imprint their mobile phones on to bacteriological growth Petri dishes so that we might determine what they might carry.
Another bacteria spotted was Bacillus mycoides. This bacteria is typically found in soil, which suggests the phone or its user had been in contact with soil recently. Bacillus mycoides are found in common pesticides and are used to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi
The experiment forms part of the course work for Dr Simon Park’s Practical and Biomedical Bacteriology course at the university. Each year, Dr Park asks his students to imprint their phones and this collection of images are from the most recent experiment
'It's unusual, but a very effective way of engaging our students with the often overlooked microbiology of everyday life.
'The ecological niche on the body for Staphylococcus aureus is the nostrils, so a furtive pick of the nose, and quick text after, and you end up with this pathogen on your smartphone.
The average handset carries 18 times more potentially harmful germs than a flush handle in a men's toilet, recent tests revealed.
An analysis of handsets found almost a quarter were so dirty that they had up to ten times an acceptable level of bacteria.
One of the phones in the test had such high levels of bacteria it could have given its owner a serious stomach upset.
The findings from a sample of 30 phones by Which? magazine suggest 14.7million of the 63million mobiles in use in the UK today could be potential health hazards.
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