THE DIRTIEST THING ON RESTAURANT TABLES _ You know the kitchen at home is clean (sort of), but what about the tables you eat at when dining out? Researchers from the University of Arizona swabbed common restaurant tabletop items for germs, including salt and pepper shakers, ketchup, menus, and sugar.
• Sugar clocked in at the lowest average bacteria count, with 2,300 organisms.
• Ketchup, mustard, and salt all fell generally in the middle.
• Pepper was second-highest on the list, with nearly 11,600 organisms.
• Menus topped the list with a whopping 185,000 bacterial organisms.
STRANGE FAMILY TRADITIONS _ Many of us are getting back to normal life after spending time with family, or people who invited us to call them family. And in that time with family we may have encountered a strange tradition. What’s the strangest family tradition you’ve encountered? What the internet said…
• My uncle does real gifts for everyone on Christmas, but then you get something random too. This year I got a piece of toast. He toasted a piece of bread, stuck it in a ziplock and stuck that in the gift bag with some (much appreciated) gift cards. It’s fun when someone brings a new partner over and they’re so confused. I’ve gotten zip ties and a turkey baster
• The mom roping the living room off in the summer, and the rope had a keep out sign on it. Another person said: My dad had a friend back in the ’70s whose mom had their living room cordoned off with a velvet rope.
• On the first day of winter they’d all (3 kids and both parents) eat ice cream for dinner, with milkshakes to drink. Needless to say I was very happy to be invited several times.
• In high school, I gave a buddy a ride home after football practice. His mom asked me to stay for dinner. I sit down with the family, my buddy, his mom, dad, and brother. They’re having a roast and potatoes. There’s also a 2 liter of coke on the table.
• After a few minutes, I’m thirsty, so I ask where they keep their glasses. The dad tells me, “We just drink out of the bottle” and takes a swig of coke. He passes it to the younger brother, who also drinks from it, and he hands it to me. I just said, “I’m good”. I ate and got the heck out of there.
TEENAGER TEXTS PART 2 _ Comedian and author Tom Leighton collects texts sent to him by his teens. And he has his social media followers share the texts their teens have sent them. A few times a year Tom delivers a roundup up the latest teen texts.
• Chicken broth. That’s not the sweat of the chicken, right?
• Am I a notary?
• What do I put for make of car? Metal?
• Just found out the band Haulin’ Oats is actually Hall & Oats.
• Do I put the bear spray on before I start hiking or just if I see a bear.
• Please don’t come to graduation. There won’t be any other parents there.
• How does eating cold turkey help you quit smoking?
