The Germaphobe’s Handbook: An Encyclopedic Survival Guide to a Germ-Infested World

Bacteria are everywhere. In your kitchen. On your face. Even under your fingernails. The Germaphobe''s Handbook will expose them all, detailing these microbes favorite places to mingle and how to best keep them out of your life.

Do you swear by hand sanitizer? Avoid sharing drinks at restaurants? Wash your hands for the full twenty seconds after every meal? Or do you simply want to improve your personal hygiene? Then The Germaphobe''s Handbook is for you. This sleek pocket guide will offer everything you need to know about germs, where they live, how they get there, and how you can eliminate or avoid them. (No hard feelings, germs.). Here are just a few examples:

• Phone Cases: In a world where smart phones are treated like an extra limb, it shouldn''t be surprising that they and the cases that protect them are covered in germs, especially considering the heat that they generate which creates an ideal environment for harmful microbes. Luckily, there''s an easy fix. Fill a water bottle with distilled water and 70% Isopropyl Alcohol. Squirt this elixir onto a microfiber pad and you have yourself a germ-fighting juice fit for a king.
• Doorknobs: Public restrooms have made great strides in eliminating germs from their spaces, but one thing they haven''t tackled is doorknobs - that little round thing everyone who uses the bathroom uses on their way out. While some places have adopted high-tech measures to combat this issue like plastic-covered doorknobs that automatically filter out after every use, there are other, simpler solutions, like installing copper or brass doorknobs which naturally cut out germs over time.
• Dollar Bills and Coins: When you hear the phrase dirty money, your mind may immediately jump to drug deals or an assassin''s salary, but maybe you should take a more literal approach to this phrase. Why? Because studies show that fibrous U.S. dollars may be one of the dirtiest objects in the world. Their lengthy circulation multiplied by the number of people each bill comes in contact with (single bills see more activity than larger ones) creates a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, the cure for this issue has already been introduced, albeit, for other reasons; with the nation''s move towards automation comes a growing preference for cash-free lifestyles that favor credit cards and digital money apps over physical bills. No money, no problems!
• Bar Nuts: You know the little bowls of almonds and cashews some places serve to keep you occupied while you wait for your blind date or perpetually late best friend? Well, they''re filled with more than just healthy nuts - they''re also filled with germs contributed by every fingertip that has entered the bowl. How do you combat this threat? Simple. Don''t eat them. They''re not even that good. Just order an appetizer.

Those are just a sample of what this book has in store. Listing the top 100 dirtiest items, and the top 100 solutions, this pocket guide has everything you need to survive in a bacteria-laden world. With graphic spot illustrations that will bring these germs off the page (you know, in a good way), The Germaphobe''s Handbook makes a great gift for anyone who craves cleanliness.