Day 1 - How Clean are We Really?

First of all, our professor had us take "befores" and "afters" of our fingerprints, before and after washing our hands. 

Steps:
1.  Use a china marker to divide an agar plate into "before" and "after."
2.  Make sure to write on the bottom side of the plate. We don't want the lid to move and confuse us!
3.  Touch a few of our fingers to the "before" side of an agar plate.
4.  Wash hands properly. (Sing your favorite song!)
5.  Without touching anything, put the same fingers on the opposite side of the agar plate and press gently.
6.  Incubate at 37 degrees Celsius for 24 hours.  We always incubate the agar plates upside down, so that the water condensation, which rises to the top of the container, helps preserve the culture instead of drying it out.


Results:

Discussion:
Well... everyone in the class had more bacterial growth on their "afters" rather than their "befores."  Why?  Nobody knows for sure.  Maybe it is the polluted Steubenville water we used to wash our hands.  That is a rather scary thought.