Recently, Jimbo’s girlfriend made a comment that sort of got me wondering. She complained that the house was not as clean as it should be and somehow hinted that this was a recent occurrence and that the house used to be clean. My reaction to her comment was to connect my being here with the dirt, and that somehow the lack of cleanliness was my fault.
Those who have known me for a long time probably remember that when I lived in my own house the place was immaculate and dust or dirt was never to be found. Okay, maybe I was not a perfect housekeeper, but my house was very clean.
Okay, okay! I would clean the house occasionally.
Today, however, I read a story on Yahoo! Which hypothesizes that perfect cleanliness may not be the best thing for human longevity. Anyway, here is the story.
You dirty rat.
The story says that rats that live in unsanitary conditions in the wild have better immune systems than rats in the lab that live in ultra-clean conditions. Because those feral rats are exposed to dirt and bacteria at an early age, they aren’t as prone to the maladies that plague those of us who live in pristine environments. Scientists refer to this as the hygiene hypothesis, and their assertion is that our clean living could be responsible for our high rate of allergies and asthma, type 1 diabetes and arthritis.
If this theory is correct, it may mean that we need a paradigm change in our lifestyle. Perhaps we should teach our children not to wash their hand after going to the restroom. Maybe we should encourage our children to play in the dirt. Maybe we should invite some germs to dinner.
For the time being, though, we’re going to save this argument for the next time our girlfriend implies that anything disorderly around our abode may be related to yours truly. I will use the tactic that I am trying to make life healthier for her.
At least, that is the plan here in Jimbo’s world.
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