World's Germiest Attractions

We were talking about general cleanliness in the office the other day and inevitably public toilets, doorknobs and such came into the picture. It is hard to avoid public toilets sometimes or avoid coming into contact with, say, a doorknob of the office conference room. Eeky, eh?

Alright, another scenario. What about touristy places or world famous tourist attractions? These places would definitely have lots and lots of germs accumulated over time. LIFE came up with a list of The World's 'germiest' attractions. The list also includes those picked by TripAdvisor.

Top of the list is The Blarney Stone. Ireland's Blarney Stone, which untold numbers of pilgrims have kissed in hopes of being blessed with the gift of gab.

At #2 is the Seattle gum wall..which people have been sticking their old chewing gum on a wall outside Seattle's Market Theatre for years, and the tradition has, erm, stuck. (Pictured here is a similar gummy landscape in San Luis Obispo, Calif., but you get the idea.)

See the other germiest attractions. You might have been there.. or planning to visit?

We can't avoid germs, viruses, microbes and the like but we can certainly take steps to avoid infection. Here are a few

Top Ways to Avoid Germs/Infections (courtesy of http://www.germophobic.net/)

1. Wash Hands Regularly
2. Wash hands thoroughly (Imagine singing "Happy Birthday" 2 times in a row
3. Avoid Touching your eyes and mouth. (Most germs come from the hands, don't let them into your body) 4. Use antibacterial/antimicrobial hand gel, such as Purell, after touching things that others have touched
5. Children do carry a lot more germs than adults. Make sure to apply rules 1-4 after playing with children.


Image source: LIFE.com