K is for Keyboard

Your computer keyboard is FIVE TIMES dirtier than your toilet seat - and could even give you 'qwerty tummy'

Computer keyboards can harbour more harmful bacteria than a lavatory seat, it has been claimed.
Many users are at risk of becoming ill with stomach bugs; according to the consumer group Which?
It warned that 'qwerty tummy', named after the first six letters on a keyboard, could sweep through workplaces after tests on equipment in its own London offices showed alarming results.


One keyboard was so dirty that a microbiologist ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.
It had 150 times the acceptable limit for bacteria and was five times as filthy as a typical lavatory seat.
Anyone who eats a sandwich or piece of fruit having been tapping on such a keyboard can pick up bacteria that could lead to a stomach upset.


The scientist swabbed 33 keyboards for food poisoning bugs e.coli, coliforms, staphylococcus aureus and enterobacteria and compared the results to those found on a lavatory seat and lavatory door handle.
Four of the keyboards were considered a potential health hazard and one was "condemned".


Two had "warning levels" of staphylococcus aureus and two others had "worryingly elevated" levels of coliforms and enterobacteria, "putting users at high risk of becoming ill from contact".
The expert said the findings were typical of offices all over Britain.








Why did the turkey cross the road?






Because he wasn't chicken!