This photo of bacteria on an 8-year-old's hand is every germaphobe's nightmare

Bacteria
(Image credit: iStock)

Here's a fact that will make any germaphobe reach for the Purell: The average person carries around enough bacteria to fill a large soup can. That's three to five pounds of microbes.

Given that information, it shouldn't be surprising that that when Tasha Sturm took a sample of the bacteria on her 8-year-old son's hands, she found that he was carrying quite a lot of organisms:

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.