Contamination experiment shows why social distancing is important
As the new coronavirus continues to spread around the world, social distancing has become the new normal. We have been accustomed to sanitising our hands, coughing under cover, and keeping at least 1.5 metre away from others in shops and on the street.
However, these guidelines are often forgone during visits to family’s or friends’ house as people let their guard down and interact freely.
In light of this phenomenon, a 2010 clip from the Discovery Channel television series Mythbusters has once again been circulated around the Internet to warn the public about how easily the virus might be spread in close vicinity.
In the video, host Adam Savage performed a dinner party experiment. Savage put on a small rig filled with fluorescent dye – which was invisible to the naked eye – by his nose and went on to host the party for six guests while pretending to have a cold.
Some of the things Savage carried out during the experiment included pouring alcohol, handing out plates and shaking hands.
The UV light later revealed that the nasal secretions significantly contaminated five out of the six dinner guests. The sixth guest, Kari, was aware of the experiment and said she was a germaphobe.
One of the more recent comments on the video said: “What a great way to show how easily our nose goo can spread to others. If you are sick, please keep others safe and self-quarantine!”