Today’s Sound Off is about money and food:

Dear Heloise: In a study done in 2017, researchers found, after they swabbed a one dollar bill from a bank in New York City, that our paper currency carries about 3,000 different types of bacteria on its surface. This included E. coli, which can make you very ill, as well as the bacteria that causes acne. They also found vaginal bacteria, microbes from the mouth, DNA from pets, tiny particles of fecal matter and traces of cocaine. In short, our paper money is filthy, and yet, we’ve all seen a waitress handle money and our food simultaneously without washing her hands.

Perhaps there should be a law or some regulation where people who handle money and food should either wash their hands more frequently or use hand sanitizer in between customers.

And, it’s not just money that is unclean. We all touch ourselves during the day, whether it’s to scratch an itch, push hair away from our face, shake hands or whatever. We transfer bacteria in this manner from one person to the next.

Usually, there’s no harm done, but in this day and age of COVID, we should all be washing our hands and using hand sanitizer far more often than we normally do. Now, with monkeypox infecting people, we may have another dangerous disease to contend with in the future.

So many people have begun to wear masks again to protect themselves, but handwashing still remains the best way to avoid transmitting a disease. — Margaret F., Salt Lake City

Margaret, money really is filthy. We all might have to go back to wearing face masks at some point in the future, as new strains of diseases emerge. Let’s all be careful and wash our hands frequently. When you get home from shopping, wash your hands before you handle any of your purchases. — Heloise

FAST FACTS

Going through your closets and drawers to clear out unused/ unwanted items? Ask yourself these questions while sorting:

— “How does this make my life better?”

— “Do I really need or use this appliance, or do I have another appliance that does more and is easier to use?”

— “Why am I still hanging onto these old books, letters, clothes, shoes and makeup?”

— “Do I really need all these cleaning products, shoes, figurines or T-shirts?”

— And, last of all: “Whatever possessed me to buy this in the first place?” Then, throw a lot of junk in the trash or donate the items to a worthy cause.

VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT

Dear Heloise: I opened my computer this morning, and I had an email from a well-known software company with the opening lines: “There has been some unusual activity on your account. You will need to verify your account by the end of the day, or we will need to place a ‘hold’ on your account.” It looked official, but I knew it was a scammer. This type of scam activity will increase as we get closer to the holidays, so please warn your readers. — Joseph C., Fargo, North Dakota

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Hints from Heloise run occasionally in Lifestyles. Readers may send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE, or email: Heloise@Heloise.com. Letters won’t be answered personally.