4 ms·

I never know what to take away from these "germs are everywhere" scare stories. I've been drinking coffee on planes for years. Maybe I've been exposed to someth

I never know what to take away from these "germs are everywhere" scare stories. I've been drinking coffee on planes for years. Maybe I've been exposed to something, but I've never been sick. Maybe it's making my immune system stronger. I'll make reasonable choices but I'm not going to be paranoid or even think twice about something like coffee on an airplane.

Bartweiss 9y ago
I was initially concerned, expecting a "heavy metals" story. Those are also common, but they're a bit less overhyped, and do predictable, cumulative harm. A vague threat of E. Coli just isn't as disturbing to me.
bspn 9y ago
The water is boiled to thermo-nuclear levels so I'd be shocked if anything nasty could survive it - certainly the flavor can't! I'm not sure if it's because there's more content available these days, but the "germs are everywhere" movement has far greater prominence than when I grew up. We'd spend all summer barefoot, put our hands in places they shouldn't and then in our mouths, eat food that we almost certainly shouldn't have and yet we somehow survived. There's some things that we absolutely shouldn't consume, but airplane tea and coffee are pretty low down that list.
- lazerpants 9y ago
  It's potentially relevant to people who have compromised immune systems or who are on immunosuppressants. Depending on when you grew up it is likely that those two groups are more prevalent, or at least are more likely to fly than before (think HIV and autoimmune disorders). But for most people the "germs are everywhere" thing is pretty overblown.
- officialjunk 9y ago
  boiling water kills most of the organisms, but the toxins they excreted will still be present and can cause problems.
  - adwi 9y ago
    Please define "toxins"
- bmh_ca 9y ago
  > certainly the flavor can't! Flavour doesn't fare well with the dryness and low pressure of airplanes at altitude. See e.g. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150112-why-in-flight-food-tastes-weird http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150112-why-in-flight-food-...
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
refurb 9y ago
I get the sense people think we're cleaner than we really are. A great example are diseases like E. coli infections, campylobacter, hepatitis A, norovirus, cryptosporidium, etc. They are reasonably common and all are transmitted through the fecal-oral route. That is, the person getting sick ingested something contaminated with feces (human or animal). Same thing with your own intestinal biome. You are sterile when you come out of your mother's womb. All of the bacteria that ends up in your intestine are ingested, often coming from your own family members. Bacteria are everywhere. I'm not going to get overly worried about bacteria in the drinking water of planes unless it starts to make people sick.
- farnsworth 9y ago
  > You are sterile when you come out of your mother's womb. All of the bacteria that ends up in your intestine are ingested, often coming from your own family members. Is that so? I thought that fetuses shared some of their mother's intestinal flora, somehow.
  - refurb 9y ago
    My understanding is that some studies have detected bacteria DNA in utero, but scientists are skeptical. A baby's intestinal flora is develop through ingestion of bacteria after birth. It generally comes from the mother.
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      > A baby's intestinal flora is develop through ingestion of bacteria after birth. Also, quite notably during birth.
  - kwoff 9y ago
    Please explain how you think the womb is connected to the intestines.
  - nsgoetz 9y ago
    I believe the fetuses get some immunity from their mother by blood but not bacteria.
scarface74 9y ago
The article -- unlike most articles of the "germs are everywhere" scare stories -- did say: ... people with a compromised immune system should steer clear of the in-flight beverage. He additionally noted that people with infants should “think twice” before filling a baby’s bottle with airplane tap water.

Bartweiss 9y ago

I was initially concerned, expecting a "heavy metals" story. Those are also common, but they're a bit less overhyped, and do predictable, cumulative harm. A vague threat of E. Coli just isn't as disturbing to me.

bspn 9y ago

The water is boiled to thermo-nuclear levels so I'd be shocked if anything nasty could survive it - certainly the flavor can't! I'm not sure if it's because there's more content available these days, but the "germs are everywhere" movement has far greater prominence than when I grew up. We'd spend all summer barefoot, put our hands in places they shouldn't and then in our mouths, eat food that we almost certainly shouldn't have and yet we somehow survived. There's some things that we absolutely shouldn't consume, but airplane tea and coffee are pretty low down that list.

lazerpants 9y ago
It's potentially relevant to people who have compromised immune systems or who are on immunosuppressants. Depending on when you grew up it is likely that those two groups are more prevalent, or at least are more likely to fly than before (think HIV and autoimmune disorders). But for most people the "germs are everywhere" thing is pretty overblown.
officialjunk 9y ago
boiling water kills most of the organisms, but the toxins they excreted will still be present and can cause problems.
- adwi 9y ago
  Please define "toxins"
bmh_ca 9y ago
> certainly the flavor can't! Flavour doesn't fare well with the dryness and low pressure of airplanes at altitude. See e.g. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150112-why-in-flight-food-tastes-weird http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150112-why-in-flight-food-...

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

refurb 9y ago

I get the sense people think we're cleaner than we really are. A great example are diseases like E. coli infections, campylobacter, hepatitis A, norovirus, cryptosporidium, etc. They are reasonably common and all are transmitted through the fecal-oral route. That is, the person getting sick ingested something contaminated with feces (human or animal). Same thing with your own intestinal biome. You are sterile when you come out of your mother's womb. All of the bacteria that ends up in your intestine are ingested, often coming from your own family members. Bacteria are everywhere. I'm not going to get overly worried about bacteria in the drinking water of planes unless it starts to make people sick.

farnsworth 9y ago
> You are sterile when you come out of your mother's womb. All of the bacteria that ends up in your intestine are ingested, often coming from your own family members. Is that so? I thought that fetuses shared some of their mother's intestinal flora, somehow.
- refurb 9y ago
  My understanding is that some studies have detected bacteria DNA in utero, but scientists are skeptical. A baby's intestinal flora is develop through ingestion of bacteria after birth. It generally comes from the mother.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > A baby's intestinal flora is develop through ingestion of bacteria after birth. Also, quite notably during birth.
- kwoff 9y ago
  Please explain how you think the womb is connected to the intestines.
- nsgoetz 9y ago
  I believe the fetuses get some immunity from their mother by blood but not bacteria.

scarface74 9y ago

The article -- unlike most articles of the "germs are everywhere" scare stories -- did say: ... people with a compromised immune system should steer clear of the in-flight beverage. He additionally noted that people with infants should “think twice” before filling a baby’s bottle with airplane tap water.