I started my day with a shower. A lot of people do. However, I found myself looking up at the showerhead. This is not something I have ever done before. There are 36 holes in my showerhead. Each one of them might be spitting pathogens all over my body. Ackkk! Or they might be gently dropping the good guys—microbial pals that will help me fight off the common cold. Rob Dunn is the reason that this thought even crosses my mind. He’s a researcher in North Carolina and we had a SKYPE call with him recently. He’s got this project researching showerheads. Lots and lots of showerheads. He asks people to sign up to participate in a showerhead citizen science project. I signed up right away. Turns out I am your average American… I am among 3000 Americans who signed up just like that. Compare that with the 400 Europeans who signed up. You want to research my what?
How much do you want to know, really? Turns out that Hawaii has tons of pathogens, Colorado—not so much. Could be climate, could be water systems. No one is really sure. So next time you take a shower, and you are singing “Just Dance”, look up. Who knows what might be tumbling down on you. As it says in Rob’s project page “As you sing, they settle”.
http://robdunnlab.com/projects/showerheads/
