Dirty Money

Sure money is dirty, after all, there's no telling who's pocket it's been in. Sow how dirty is it?

A recent study found that some strains of flu virus can survive on paper money for up to three days! And up to 17 days if mucus is involved, ewwww! On top of that, one researcher cultured 68 $1 bills and discovered all but four had colonies of dangerous bacteria that can cause staph infections and pneumonia. Coins tested a little better with lower levels of germs, most likely because they've got trace metals that inhibit microbes.

There is a way to reduce your exposure. Use credit and debit cards instead of paper currency as much as possible. And when you do handle money, reach for the hand sanitizer too.

Source: Elizabeth Scott, author of "How to Prevent Food Poisoning"