Dear future president,

First I want to congratulation you to become a president of the US. I'm a transfer student from Viet Nam - a small country but beautiful, live in California. In my opinion, the problem about public restroom need to look at. Everybody knows somebody who refuses do their business in a public restroom because public restrooms are very dirty. Contrary to popular belief, a recent study found public bathrooms are not that dirty compared to the rest of your environment.

The study involved two public restrooms, one male and one female. Scientists decontaminated the restrooms, then let people come and go, charting the accumulation of bacteria and viruses on communal surfaces like toilet seats, faucet knobs, floors, and soap dispensers on an hourly, daily, and weekly basis. Then they closed the restrooms and continued to chart the bacteria’s growth and ecology.

The results might make you rethink your attitude on public bathrooms. They found that most of the microorganisms were either skin-associated, or they came from soil or plants (which they presume people tracked in). Fecal germs did not seem to thrive in the bathrooms, only making up no more than 15 percent of germs after the restroom was closed for a few hours. They believe that the dryness and presence of oxygen in the air limit how long fecal microbes can survive. I don’t know about everyone, but I’m a lot less grossed out by (some) public restrooms now. 

What does all this mean in human terms? Basically, that most of the bacteria and viruses you’d find in a bathroom come from humans — they might not come from humans you personally know, but that doesn’t make them harmful. As the lead author of the study Sean M. Gibbons put it, “Most of the things on us or in us are not only benign, but necessary for our health. 

I think maybe you don't interested about this but hopefully you will. Thank you !!

By : Chau