WEBVTT - How Clean Should We Be? 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:00.720 Guess what mango? 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:03.160 What's that will? So I was traveling last week and 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:05.120 as I go through security, I'm waiting on my bag 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:07.440 to be scanned, and I catch this strong whiff of 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:10.080 pure ol and it reminded me to pull mine out, 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:12.520 because there's something about all this stuff going in and 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.239 out of bins that really grosses me out. But then 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:17.479 I realized mine wasn't on me. So I looked at 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:18.880 the end of the moving belt and I saw there 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:21.279 was a dispenser. I walk over and I put some 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:24.200 of that magic on my hands. Ten feet after that, 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:28.240 there was another dispenser. Suddenly I started noticing these things everywhere. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.560 I could have gone swimming in all the hand sanitizer 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.519 available to me. It's something so present in our lives. 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:36.000 My son just calls it hand sand hand sand. I 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:38.400 hope that takes off me too, And it made me 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.120 wonder how did hand sanitizer become such a thing, And 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:42.760 it turns out it goes all the way back to 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:45.360 this woman named Goldie Lipman, who worked at a rubber 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.040 plant in the forties. At the time, workers would use 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.720 benzene to get carbon off their hands, which is super harsh. 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:54.040 So Goldie and her husband Jerry, invitted a more gentle, 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:57.640 waterless cleaner. It's this classic startup story. They lived in 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.000 their parents' attic, they mixed up test batches the laundry machine, 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:06.160 and then they packaged it in pickle jars. Right, so artisical, 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:08.520 I know. But then they tried to sell the stuff 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:09.640 and it didn't go so well. 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:10.240 How come? 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:13.320 Well, no one wanted to try this goofy stuff, you know, 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.160 So Jerry came up with a sales trick. Just before 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.360 a meeting. He scored a little dab on his palm. 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:21.120 Then when someone would shake his hand, they'd get startled 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:23.920 because who wants to feel this cold, wet glob and 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:26.520 a handshakes It's. 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:27.280 Pretty gross, I know. 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:29.400 But as they rubbed it to get it off, the 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:33.000 factory stains would vanish from inside their palms, which I 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:35.280 guess is pretty smart. It's a genius, I think. And 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.800 so this is the proto PUREL and today hand sanitizers 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.880 are everywhere. But looking at all the hands sand around us, 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:44.479 it got me wondering are we being over protective? 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:45.640 How clean should we be? 0:01:46.120 --> 0:02:05.720 And that's the question we're tackling on today's part time genius. Hey, 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.280 there podcast listeners, I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:10.400 joined by my good friend Mangash hot ticketter, and you're 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.560 listening to Part Time Genius now today I can barely 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.720 recognize Mangosh because he's currently wrapped in plastic wrap from 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.720 the office kitchen. Any reeks of hand sanitizer? Did I 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:20.480 use too much? 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:21.560 I mean, maybe a little. 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.359 Well, I know Purell is more your thing, but ever 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:26.799 since doing all this research on germs this week, I'm 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:29.480 thinking of making it my signature scent. Like how prints 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:30.760 always smell like lavender. 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:32.560 I can't say that I was aware of this. 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:35.560 Yeah, used to smell like heavy, heavy lavender, and his 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:37.600 friends used to say that they could smell his presence 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.320 like a full minute before he entered the room. So 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:42.320 you'd be sitting there and you'd feel this hit of 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:47.720 lavender and then oh, you'd just appear like an angel. Anyway, 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:49.760 after this week, I'm thinking of doing that with Purel. 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.320 I think that's a that's a brilliant plan, Mango. But 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:54.600 you know what's interesting, and I realize we're going deep 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:58.040 on hand sanitizer before this episode even starts. But one 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.800 of the things customers always indicate is a preference for 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:04.840 unscented sanitizers, but when hand sanitizer companies came out with 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.520 more a few years ago, not only did customers not 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.600 buy the fragrance ree versions, but there was concern in 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.200 the health community that people weren't applying enough of it 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:15.480 to really kill the germs. Well, I'm pretty sure I 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:16.399 used enough of it. 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:17.680 I would agree with that. 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.480 But speaking of our research this week, we were reminded 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.480 yet again that science is weird because it feels like 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:27.360 we're always reading these contradictory reports. It's healthy to drink 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.720 wine one week, then it's not healthy to drink wine. 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:32.799 It's healthy to drink coffee, It's not healthy to drink coffee. 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:35.040 You know, it turns out it's not healthy to smoke 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:38.000 a bucket full of cigarettes. That is how they sell 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:38.920 cigarettes now today. 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:40.440 Still, yeah, you want to get them by the top, 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:42.120 that's the super cool thing to do. 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:46.240 And it feels like studies on germs are the same way. 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:48.000 I mean, we know it's good to be clean, but 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.320 we also hear reports that tell us to quit trying 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:53.880 to kill every germ out there. Speaking of which, before 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.560 we fully dive into this, I know we can both 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:59.720 be a little germaphobic, Mango, But what's one thing you 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:02.440 do it was a germophobe that you'd be embarrassed to admit. 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:04.360 I know. For me, it's that as soon as I. 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:06.920 Walk into a hotel room, I look for the free 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.440 shower cap and the bathroom or the plastic bag and 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:12.880 the ice bucket to slip over the remote control so 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.800 like a remote control condom. Oh yeah, I love it. 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:18.400 So we've known each other for almost twenty years now, 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:20.719 and I'm not sure you know this, but I won't 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:22.320 take a sip out of a drink someone else has 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:23.119 been drinking from. 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:24.080 I know. 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:28.560 And it's not just germophobic, it's cultural. Like in India, 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.320 the tap water is undrinkable, so families tend to keep 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.760 big glass bottles filled with purified water on tables. They're 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.839 communal and they're just builled and ready to drink from. 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:39.520 So as a four year old, you learn to pour 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:41.880 water from one or two inches above your mouth, so 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:44.400 you're never actually touching your lips to it. And it's 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.640 all because you don't want to spread germs, like if 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.560 you've touched your lips to it, then you've ruined it 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.400 for everyone else. But and this is the weird part, 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:53.039 and it's hard for me to say out loud, but 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:55.520 even if my wife sees me drinking a bottle of 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:58.320 root beer and just takes a swig, I can't drink 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.799 it out, Like, I really can't I drink it. I 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:04.039 have to force myself. And so that's my big secret. 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.440 Like my sister and I both, it's this weird mixture 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:10.279 of like Indian politeness and germophobeness and sort. 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:12.279 Of where those things ven diagram. I think this is 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:14.520 really the kind of thing you shouldn't admit, not because 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:17.279 it's that embarrassing, but because friends love to mess with 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:19.440 you on things like this. It's like when friends find 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:21.640 out that I can't stand for my nose to be touched. 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:24.039 It makes me dizzy, and then they just think it's 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.160 so funny to walk up and tapy right on the 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:27.679 use a button nose. 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:28.640 That's right now. 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:31.280 We also wanted our podcast listeners to share some of 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.400 their more embarrassing germaphobic moments on Facebook. So if you're 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:36.960 up for sharing, contribute your story to our Facebook page 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.960 and we'll be mailing out a big and ridiculous prize 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.640 to our favorite three stories. What's the prize again, I 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.040 can't tell you that's going to be huge, so big. 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:45.520 Can't wait. 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:48.840 But let's talk about this recent cover story and New Scientists. 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.840 You know this is one of my favorite magazines. I mean, honestly, 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:54.159 how many times a day do I mention my love 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.360 of New Scientists? Conservatively? Maybe four hundred? 0:05:57.480 --> 0:05:58.919 Well, i'd say at least yeah. 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:02.200 So Penny Sarche, biomedical news editor for New Scientists, which 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:04.720 we've established I love, and who's going to be joining 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.880 us a little later today wrote a story titled Germ Warfare, 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.440 and in it she talks about this struggle of trying 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:13.359 to figure out how clean is too clean, because we 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.520 know good hygiene helps prevent infection and the spread of disease, 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.359 but we also know they are definitely good bacteria that 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:21.720 keep us well. But let's back up a little bit. 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:24.920 So in the late eighties and early nineties, many researchers 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.080 really started to get behind the theory that kids were 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:30.480 developing allergies later because they were avoiding so many infections 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:33.000 early in life, and they had plenty of evidence to 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:36.240 point to my kids are less likely to develop allergies 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.279 or asthma if they grow up on a farm or 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:38.720 grew up. 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:41.279 With a dog, or if their parents wash dishes by hand. 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:43.440 I mean, we're a dishwasher. 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:45.920 Family, so whit kids are screwed. Definitely us two. But oh, 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:47.520 here's a really gross one. Are you ready for this? 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:49.600 You might want to gargle a little more pure l 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:53.200 before I read this, though, so Sarche says a twenty 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:56.000 fourteen paper that found that children are less likely to 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.599 develop precursors to asthma if in their first year they're 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:03.359 exposed to particles from cats, mice, and cockroaches. 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:05.000 It makes you wonder if. 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:08.000 They'll eventually develop a powder made of cat hair, mice tails, 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.480 and cockroach faces that you sprinkle on your kid. 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:13.280 Cockroach faces. Yeah, I don't know why it has to 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.200 be faces, but it just seemed all of it was gross. 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:16.600 I can't even imagine that. 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.040 Actually, I read this piece in the La Times about 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:21.680 Amish families and their homes because the kids tend to 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:25.480 have considerably less asthma. And scientists actually took dust from 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.680 regular homes and then dust from Amish households, and when 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.200 they sprinkled the Amish dust in front of mice's noses, 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.040 it tended to protect the mice's airways from allergens, which 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.200 is so crazy, so amish dust. It's like a new 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:42.239 business idea, we are going to be so rich. Actually, 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:44.600 do you know who was really dirty and probably didn't 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:45.080 have much? 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:45.360 Ask? 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:47.120 Now, who's that? I can't wait for the answer on 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:47.679 this one. 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:49.000 What is that of right? 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.120 For some reason I got stuck in a rabbit hole 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.960 about royalty and according to the economist, kings from France 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:58.000 and England in the fifteen hundreds and sixteen hundreds were 0:07:58.000 --> 0:07:58.800 the dirtiest. 0:07:58.920 --> 0:07:59.280 Huh. 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:02.000 Like they believe hot water was the devil and that 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.239 it could open up your pores and let all sorts 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.200 of illness in. So here are a few stories I found, 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:10.960 like Francis Henry the fourth famously stunk of quote sweat 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:16.040 stables feet and Garland, oh Louis the eighth didn't have 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:17.720 his first bath until he was seven. 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.120 Oh god versa ill for all the. 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.720 Glamorous laboratories like washing with water wasn't even a concern. 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:27.280 And England's James the First never bathed. He only washed 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:29.840 his fingertips, just just the tips. 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:31.000 That is so gross. 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.040 But unfortunately, being healthy and living forever isn't as simple 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:37.000 as just saying, okay, let's be dirtier. But before we 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:39.000 dig into that, how about we break for a quiz. 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:49.120 Sounds smart, So, Mango, who do we have on the 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:49.960 line to play today? 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.679 So we've got two lab scientists. Their names are Bertha 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.160 and Umish, and Umesh is a special guest. 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:55.920 He's your dad. 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:56.640 That's right. 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:00.000 Well, Umesh, welcome to the show. 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:04.320 Oh, thank you. So you know, Umesh was a chemical 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.559 engineer who worked on several agriculture products over the years. 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:10.079 But I heard that you actually first got. 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.360 Interested in chemistry and experiments by baking bread with your 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:14.600 dad as a kid in India. 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:16.880 Is this true? Or is Mango just making stuff up 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:17.400 as usual. 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:20.480 You used to make the week Club and we had 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.280 to modify it for gluten and other things to make it. 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.000 Should it rose and reacted with the east. 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:28.640 Oh that's wonderful. That's really neat. What a great way 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:30.079 to be introduced to the sciences. 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:35.640 And our second guest, Bertha is at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:36.760 Bertha, welcome to the show. 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:39.040 Hey Ertha, Hi, thanks for having me. 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:42.280 Tell us a little bit what you do at UAB So. 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:47.080 I'm a genetic epigemiologist. And that does not mean that 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:54.239 I study skin diseases. I study genetics and TAISI diabetes 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:57.440 and ABCD and cardivascular disease and try and figure out 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:01.800 what environmental exposures can change some of our genetic outcomes. 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:03.160 Oh wow, very cool. 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:05.120 Yeah, we do the same thing, but Mengo and I 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:10.240 are both really into that kind of just on the side. Yeah, 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.760 speaking of on the side, I understand that when you 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:16.080 first got into the field, you weren't quite making enough 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.920 money to make ends meet, so you would ballroom dance 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:20.080 to bring in additional money. 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:20.600 Is this true? 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:21.240 I did. 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:25.839 I am responsible for many a wedding first dance choreography. 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:30.200 Oh well y yeah, yeah, it was a lot of fun. 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:30.920 Oh cool. 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.840 Well, best the best science is very collaborative science. So 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.400 we've decided to let you to team up for this quiz. 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:37.719 Now, what are we playing, Mango. 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:41.520 We're playing a game called clean Sweep. Hmm, okay, all right, now, 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:44.280 normally we would try to make some sort of tangential connection, 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:47.760 like being lab scientists, you're very good at sanitizing things. 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:49.640 But we want to be honest with you here. 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.040 We just found a lot of words that rhymed with 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.160 clean and turn them into quiz questions. 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:56.240 So this is how it works. 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:58.800 We're going to give you a clue and then you 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.400 say the word clean before the example. 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:04.120 So this is so stupid, Mango. You're the best at 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.120 these awful courses, all right, So give us a sample, Mango. 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:11.319 So the reason we wear costumes on October thirty first. 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:16.200 You would say clean Halloween, right, or Elizabeth the second's title. 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.319 In England you might say clean Queen. 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:19.920 Right? 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:24.200 All right, you guys got it? Okay, So here we go. 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.080 We're gonna let you guys go one at a time, 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:28.200 but you're working together, and if one of you doesn't 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.360 get it, you can toss it to the other person. So, Bertha, 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:34.640 we will start with you. Question number one. A stretched 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.960 out car that glamorous people get to drive in. 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:40.480 Ooh clean limousine. 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:44.680 Well for one umesh an underwater vessel the Beatles sang 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:49.160 about you got it all right, Bertha? A jingle jangle 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:52.360 hand instrument. Bob Dylan asks a man to play in 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:53.280 the song. 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.760 Oh my Goodness, I punch and my dad as a 0:11:56.920 --> 0:12:00.320 backup singer in a Rolling Stones band in Colin might 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:01.440 not this all right? 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:03.800 Let's hear it. 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:07.200 It's a jingle jangle hand instrument. It would be a 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:08.559 clean tambourine. 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:10.440 That's okay, we only have to get six out of. 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:13.680 All right. 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:15.560 This is back to you. 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:20.040 The thing you mix with ginger ale in a Shirley temple. Clean, 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:24.760 well done, Nice there, Bertha. Okay, this one's back to you, 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:28.959 all right. A character with adamantium Claus from the X Men. 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:31.400 It's also the University of Michigan mascot. 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:37.400 Yes, on the edge of our We're just gonna throw 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:37.640 them out. 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:39.640 Let either one of you answer. Here we go number 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:42.319 number six. You guys have gotten five out of six, 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:45.040 so you're in good shape. A colorful easter candy. The 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:48.240 easter bunny might leave for you a colorful candy. The 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:49.880 Easter bunny might leave for you. 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:51.160 A clean jelly. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.200 You got it, Bertha, well done, all right. Question number 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:57.440 seven two left a method of execution that arose during 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:00.160 the French Revolution. The last time one was used and 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:02.680 was in France in nineteen seventy seven. 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:04.520 I got it. 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:08.000 Nice job, last one, all right. Former star of Two 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.040 and a Half Men, brother to Emilio Estevez. 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:15.680 Oh gosh, it's got a dad named Martin. 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:22.320 Oh clean, yes, clean, Charlie Sheen, I don't think really exists. 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:26.160 So it's a mythical creature. 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:28.800 So how many do they? How many they get right, mango? 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:30.480 So they got seven out of eight and of course 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.040 that means they win the big prize, which is a 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:35.280 note to your mom or or boss written from us, 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.000 which is, you know, finally the validation you've been looking for. 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:51.720 Wow, what a great prize. Congratulations guys. 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.319 So we're talking about the question how clean is too clean? 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:57.600 And before the break we were discussing how a little 0:13:57.600 --> 0:13:59.040 more dirt in our lives might. 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:00.000 Be a key to healthier life. 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:02.880 But for anyone who heard that and decided to start 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.720 licking the floor, pull yourself together, it's a little more 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:06.760 complicated than that. 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:08.920 Although it is a little of that right, Like one 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.240 of the things I'm fascinated by is that we ingest 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:14.040 fifty to sixty milligrams of soil a day, and that 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:16.760 little bit of dirt might be helping us be healthier. 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:20.880 Like scientists also think playing quote social sports can help 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.200 and will I know, we like to have debates about 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:26.400 what a sport is, like is Badman really a sport? 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:27.600 Please don't get me started on. 0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:30.640 I know you have some super strong feelings, but what's 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.960 important here is where we're getting our daily bacteria from 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:35.440 could actually play a big role in. 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:37.840 Our health, right, I mean, the reality is some bacteria 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:40.720 are good, some are bad. So it's more about understanding 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:45.520 our dun' da da microbiome. Now you're probably wondering what 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.360 a microbiome is, and for the super condensed version, let's 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:50.520 turn to our microbiome correspondent. 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:53.320 Oh wait, that's you. You're you're a microbiome correspondent. Mang 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:55.800 oh congratulations. All right, okay, talk to. 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.160 Meuch and honor, I can talk to microbiomes, so let's 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.400 stuff to ak asecon We humans like to think of 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.280 ourselves as individuals, right, like we've got big egos. But 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:08.280 the truth is there are as many non human cells 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.960 in our body as human cells, and because they're all 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.120 working with us, playing a vital role in our body's 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:15.520 success in some ways, it's more important to think of 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:18.760 your body like a super organism, almost like a colony 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.680 of ants all working together, or even a slime mold, 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:25.080 like all pulling in one direction. H. I know it's gross, right, 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:28.160 but that analogy doesn't even go far enough. In fact, 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.960 your body's more like a rainforest, and each of the 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:34.600 thousands of bacterial species inside you is precisely built for 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:38.000 a specific environment. Like the bacteria in your stomach would 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.360 die if it moved to your small intestine, and the 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:41.800 small intestine stuff. 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:43.600 Would struggle if it was placed. 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.680 In the big intestine. Like, it's actually that complicated. As 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.040 one of my science writer friends told me, humans are 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:52.680 more closely related to C squirts than these microbacteria are 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:53.360 to one another. 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:54.040 Oh wow. 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.520 Yeah, And another way to think about how diverse your 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:58.520 body is is to like take a look at your 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:01.120 left hand and your right hand. Your hands feel like 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:03.240 they should be the same, right, Yeah, but of the 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:06.120 thousands of bacteria on there, your left hand and right 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.040 hand might only share one in six microbial species. 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:10.560 Like how bizarre is that? 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:11.440 That is pretty crazy? 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:15.840 Right, So scientists are isolating these microbes and understanding their superpowers. 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.680 They're also considering how to hack the bacteria and use 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:22.680 it to human advantage. Like in Sweden, doctors at a 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.760 hospital noticed that their pneumonia patients were getting infections from 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:28.840 feeding tubes, and the patients were having a harsh reaction 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:32.360 to the antibacterial sprays. So the doctors looked at this 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:38.400 bacteria in your saliva called lacto basilius plantarrum, and it's 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:41.160 this probiotic that helps you break down food in your saliva. 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.720 And when they spread the culture inside their patient's mounts 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.200 and on the feeding tubes, it actually stopped the infections 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:49.480 like no side effects. 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:50.120 That's incredible. 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:52.880 So scientists have been using the Human Microbiome Project to 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.840 crack the code and map out all of our microbiota. 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:59.120 Well, one crazy thing about microbiomes is that scientists used 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:01.440 to think that how they were born might affect it, 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:04.400 like c sections in particular, they thought might be creating 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:07.480 a different type and perhaps less healthy baby than straight 0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:10.520 vaginal deliveries. But it turns out that isn't true. I 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.840 mean it's true initially, but by six weeks the differences 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.680 aren't even detectable, which is pretty crazy because. 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:18.000 Kids aren't crawling around then. 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:20.520 But the colonies just grow so fast in the mouth 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:22.600 and on the skin and then the gut that they 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.760 don't need that much exposure to grow these distinct colonies 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:26.720 all over their bodies. 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:28.800 I know, I think of toddlers being dirty, but not 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:30.760 really babies, dirty babies set. 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:33.760 But the lesson is, in general, it's healthiest to have 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:36.640 a wider range of microbes. So it's not quite true 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:38.879 to say that getting more infections as a child. 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:39.880 Makes us healthier later. 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:44.280 It's really the exposure to different bacteria, and almost exclusively 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:46.879 exposure at a very early age. I mean we're talking 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:50.359 before the age of three. That's when it's pretty much set. 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:52.240 I mean, you know, as my mom used to say, 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:56.200 once your microbiome is set, your microbiome is set. She's right, 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.200 you got to set in forget it like a firm, 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:02.640 like a yeah, or permanent, as my grandfather would say. 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:05.960 People still get perms? Is is that a thing they will? Now? 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:08.120