Wash Your Hands!

I, for one, have always felt that washing your hands after leaving the toilet was unimportant if I didn't pee on them. I was wrong. In this Straightdope column, you learn all about the "ecological jungle" that is our body [uncomfortable to read but good to know] as well as the dope on Urine Therapy (drinking your pee), where we get this:

While I don't suppose there's any danger urine therapy will become the next macarena, I did take the precaution of checking out the concept with University of Chicago kidney specialist Dr. John Asplin. He thought urine consumption in moderate quantities was probably harmless.

The stuff is fairly sterile, and if you do happen to have a urinary-tract infection or something, well, you've already got whatever germs you're consuming. (Former Indian prime minister Moraji Desai, a daily urine drinker, lived to be 99.)

On the other hand, Asplin said, UT isn't likely to do you much good either. Listen to your body. Your body is saying, "I just got rid of this stuff, granola-brain. Are you nuts?"

Bottom Line: We are full of germs, and it's a good idea to treat them with respect lest they move to other people. And another thing -- the I know a guy line of argument (Desai)? It means nothing. How many people lived to 99 who did not drink their pee? Lots? Right, so can we get back to useful statistics now?