February 12, 2007

On Beer Pong and Bacteria

It's one of those things you really don't want to think about - one of those thoughts that lurks in the back of your mind when you're about to play, but you beat it back. It's not like it's rocket science...when you play beer pong you're picking up a ball that just rolled under a radiator that hasn't been cleaned since the Roosevelt administration, throwing it into a cup of beer, and then drinking it. Makes our stomach turn a bit...but of course, we're (relatively) sober right now.

Anyway, two enterprising young scientists have done some experimenting to find out just how much crud you're drinking when you play beer pong or beirut. Guess what? It's a lot. We challenge the science community to invent antibacterial ping pong balls - or we might just start using Lysol in the rinse cup.

Thankfully, just before Christmas this gap of scientific knowledge was bridged by two gentlemen, Ben Morrissey and Aaron Heffner, who are currently enrolled at my illustrious alma mater of George Washington University. From one night of beer pong playing, these guys uncovered salmonella, E. coli and pneumonia germs under the microscope. Since the ClayNation column is eternally committed to the furtherance of science, I absolutely had to interview the foremost experts on beer pong bacteria in the world, Aaron Heffner and Ben Morrissey. And the result is another hard-hitting ClayNation interview.

ClayNation [via Days That End in Y]