Special Agent Oso Feeds a Llama at the Petting Zoo
I want a llama. Or so I’ve been telling Doug ever since I saw Tina the lasagna-eating llama in one of my favorite films, Napoleon Dynamite. Now we have a baby and our lifestyle is not compatible with llama tending.
This morning when Sorenne and I got up, we turned on the Disney channel to watch Special Agent Oso. The episode, “A Zoo to a Thrill” showed Oso helping June Kim feed a llama at the petting zoo. Special Agent Oso always has to accomplish “three special steps” in each of his missions. This time it was:
- step one: get the llama food
- step two: wait your turn in line
- step three: feed the llama.
Not included in the steps, but clearly shown in the episode were washing hands before getting the llama food and after feeding the llama. Our veterinary friend Kate Stenske told us that washing your hands before handling the animals is a question of not transmitting whatever you have to the animals and washing them afterwards is about not transmitting what the animal has to you.
I was especially pleased in this episode to see that June Kim’s father stayed outside of the petting zoo area while he fed his baby a bottle. Bottles and pacifiers are at high risk for cross-contamination in such areas because some of the pathogens can be aerosolized.
If Sorenne wants to meet a llama, I may take her to a petting zoo someday, or to our friend and contractor Russell’s house. We’ll try to make sure she washes her hands so her first visit to a zoo does not give her a bad thrill.
Dry hands are 1,000 times safer than damp hands; or so say PR types
What Would Don Draper Do? He’d reject the crappy ad copy, leave it to his underlings if necessary, and walk away. After a large glass of whiskey.
Mike Kapalko, SCA Tissue`s Environmental & Tork Services Manager says,
"Our hands touch 300 different surfaces every 30 minutes. And, according to the CDC, up to 40 percent of Americans could contract the H1N1 virus through 2010.
So properly washing and, equally important, effectively drying your hands is a simple way of dramatically decreasing your risk of being infected. As a leader in
hygienic solutions, Tork provides businesses and consumers with handwashing resources such as posters and educational videos through our website."
The press release says damp hands spread 1,000 times more germs than dry hands2.
This is the reference:
2Patrick, D.R., Findon, G., Miller, T.E., Epidemiology and Infection
That’s not a reference.
“It is therefore as important to dry your hands as it is to wash them carefully with soap and warm water.”
Nah, water temperature doesn’t matter much either.
How hard is it to get it right?
Horny college students told to wear surgical masks when kissing to reduce risk of swine flu
Is grinding an effective form of birth control? Are condoms recommended during oral sex? Should horny college students kiss while wearing surgical masks to reduce incidence of swine flu?
In what should provide a stimulus to the sexy doctor/nurse outfit industry, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control yesterday issued advice suggesting that if college students are ill, they should refrain from kissing but, if they must, wear a surgical mask while doing the deed.
Substitute the word condom for mask in the following excerpts from the story; makes it fun.
The recommendation reads, "If close contact with others cannot be avoided, the ill student should be asked to wear a surgical mask during the period of contact. Examples of close contact include kissing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, or having any other contact between persons likely to result in exposure to respiratory droplets."
CDC spokesperson Tom Skinner acknowledged that the language of the recommendation was confusing and that the agency would "look at rewording" the guidance.
"We're not telling them to wear a mask when they kiss," Skinner said. "What we're trying to do is give examples of 'close contact.'"
We’ll stick with our advice, below.
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