20th
December, 2003 - That's not LOVE in the air?!
I
came across writer/actor/comedian Rick Mercer's (This Hour Has 22
minutes) diary in today's paper. He's out in Afghanistan, entertaining
the troops at Camp Julien. A snippet from his December 8th entry
deals with survival tips and reads as follows:
"Never put your hands in or near your mouth, and just so you
don't forget, be aware that the air and dust contain about 40% fecal
matter."
Now I don't know about anyone else, but I have always thought that
air is composed (more of less) of 80% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, a little
argon, some carbon dioxide and trace elements. No-one said anything
about crap in the cosmos. And if you're thinking "Hey, that's
only in Kabul", think again. The open sewers in Kabul certainly
don't do anything to help the situation, but it turns out that fecal
residue is part and parcel of the air we breath - Kenya, Canada
or Cambodia. It's just another shitty fact of life.
Apparently, "fecal matter in dust is not recognized as an inhalation
or health hazard" because harmful microbes in those particles
are most likely killed by the UV light of the sun, or due to low
environmental humidity. So next time you see the chef at your favourite
restaurant skip the hand-washing and sway his arms in the breeze
or hold his palms up to the sky, just smile and think "green
sanitation."
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