Germ Awareness

With this flu epidemic going around it made me remember my amazing AP Biology teacher in high school.

When we walked into the class she had everyone go to their lab stations. There were pumps of lotion on each table. She instructed us to pump some lotion on our hands, rub it in on our hands, then go to the sink and wash our hands. After everyone washed their hands we went to our desks where she proceeded to teach class.

Before the class was over she said she had a surprise for us. She turned the classroom lights off and a black light on.

All of a sudden everything was GLOWING! The lotion had a black light residue in it, if you didn't wash your hands well, everything you had touched since we sat down was glowing! People's pens, desks, noses, eyes, chins, notebooks, etc were glowing. You could tell some people had just used water because their hands were 100% glowing! Others had spots closer to their wrists. I remember looking at my hands and the lines on my palms were still glowing. It was one of the coolest classes ever.

She effectively taught everyone that day the importance of germs and how quickly they could spread, and how to properly wash your hands. I wish there were more teachers in this world with fun interactive lessons like this, even if we were seniors in high school.