Happy Birthday

The biggest thing in the news for the last couple of weeks has been the Swine Flu, more formally called H1N1. One of the more interesting points in all of the news coverage is that your first line of defense against this previously unknown virus strain is to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. The best way to avoid getting sick and to keep this contagion from spreading is to carry on your normal activities, but keep your hands clean after touching anyone or anything that comes into contact with other people. Dr. Tim Johnson, consultant to the ABC broadcast network has suggested that when washing your hands, you should scrub them together with soap for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday". This advice gives me the picture of people at side-by-side sinks in public restrooms all washing and singing "Happy Birthday to you..." The singing would probably help them cheer each other up, but the danger is that in their enthusiasm, they would give each other hand slap high fives, which would mean that they would have to wash their hands all over again.