As fans of MythBusters know, the surface of a cell phone can be almost as dirty, if not dirtier, than a toilet seat. Technology advances, why shouldn’t hygiene? Our good friends in Japan have come up with a solution, as well as a convenient place to remind you to use it:
Don’t forget to wipe before you swipe the next time you are at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.
Toilets at the airport have been equipped with “toilet paper” that you can use to disinfect your smartphone.
Paid for by Japanese mobile giant NTT Docomo, the sheets also include information about the firm’s public Wi-Fi networks as well as details about its smartphone travel app.
Social media users have reacted to the move with humour and disbelief.
The bizarre dispensers have been installed in seven restrooms and will remain in place until March next year, local media cited NTT Docomo as saying.
Japan is globally renowned for revolutionising its public toilets, many of which are clean, modern and boast very elaborate high-tech features.
“There are more than five times of germs on a smartphone screen as compared to a toilet seat,” NTT Docomo said in a post on its official YouTube page.
It added that the special cleaning rolls were “made to clean screens so foreign tourists could enjoy their travel hygienically”.
Don’t you feel fresher already?
Since I first saw that MythBusters episode way back when I’ve taken to using hand sanitizer more on my phone than on my hands. The odd thing is that I never question how much of that ick on the phone may be coming from my very own face. If Adam and Jamie ever do a reboot of the show maybe they can look into that. Maybe next time I’m in Japan there will be face wipes next to the phone wipes.
One can’t ever be too careful.
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