OT: Why Soap Works

DMB
DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/health/soap-coronavirus-handwashing-germs.html 

If you don't like NYT, googling the same question provides many other choices.

This article is oddly more specific to Logos (ha). I'm frankly not young, and thought I knew about soap. Dishwashing, laundry, and millions (I'm sure) of commercials. But I didn't. Well, ok.

- How would you discover 'soap'? Turns out, the most likely answer is animal sacrificing. Though, BBQ'ing  would also seem to work, except for the grill. Remember those little drippy things on your average altar? (the Logos connection!). Fat and other stuff flows off, plus ashes down below. Soap!  I've never seen altar cleaning; I assume it was left to assistent-priests.

- Soap literally attacks organisms (the part I didn't know). Due to the molecular structure, it accidentally pries into membranes of bacteria and viruses. The latter, I would have doubted. I knew it's great for oil removal.

- Hand sanitizer is similar; it just doesn't clear the 'battlefield'. Dead bodies everywhere.

So! Take another look at altar-technology (bronze age maybe)!

"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

Comments

  • Bruce Dunning
    Bruce Dunning MVP Posts: 11,163

    Denise said:

    Remember those little drippy things on your average altar? (the Logos connection!).

    I like how you slipped in the Logos connections. [;)]

    But it was a fascinating article. I never knew soap was so destructive.

    Also this week I actually learned how to wash my hands - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AGW3bbcb3Y

    Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God

  • Francis
    Francis Member Posts: 4,024 ✭✭✭

    Three related items:

    1. Since coffee cups must apparently say "caution hot beverage," perhaps it should be said that antiviral soap usage is for external use only [:P]
    2. I did find coronavirus entries in the 2003 Webster and 2004 Oxford, both in Logos and indicating that it is viruses that affect animals and humans.
    3. For some reason, entries related to coronavirus show in the drop down menu in Wikipedia in Logos but the articles don't show (revert to "Giru"). 
  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,845

    Very interesting article! Thanks, Denise. [Y]

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Veli Voipio
    Veli Voipio MVP Posts: 2,102

    [Y] I just look forward to discuss this with my medical doctor friend. He is moderately positive to Christianity and church, but did not like the Old Testament practice of animal sacrifice ...

    Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 11

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Just a follow-up, if you have the church-cleaning duties (critical these days).

    This article is how long the virus sticks around. 

    - Air-wise, it has a half-life per hour. So, presumably, a Bible class room, an hour later, could still have 50% of a possible virus particles in the air. Don't know what that means for heating/cooling distribution.

    - Surface-wise, the equation is longer. But what is interesting is that paper surfaces seem to be killers (vs plastic or steel). Who knew?

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-study-idUSKBN2143QP 

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • DAL
    DAL Member Posts: 10,942 ✭✭✭

    Denise said:

    Just a follow-up, if you have the church-cleaning duties (critical these days).

    This article is how long the virus sticks around. 

    - Air-wise, it has a half-life per hour. So, presumably, a Bible class room, an hour later, could still have 50% of a possible virus particles in the air. Don't know what that means for heating/cooling distribution.

    - Surface-wise, the equation is longer. But what is interesting is that paper surfaces seem to be killers (vs plastic or steel). Who knew?

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-study-idUSKBN2143QP 

    Everybody knows that about paper, Denise! Why do you think people are buying toilet paper? They’re preparing for a war against the virus 🦠😂😂😂 Toilet Paper bullets, bombs and wipes to raid the virus and keep it away from their homes.  They sleep in toilet paper beds and use blankets made out of toilet paper.  They take showers and dry themselves with paper towels 😂😂😂 

    Me, water and soap is good. No need to “wipe” out the toilet paper from the stores 👍😁👌

    DAL

  • SineNomine
    SineNomine Member Posts: 7,012 ✭✭✭

    Denise said:

    - Surface-wise, the equation is longer. But what is interesting is that paper surfaces seem to be killers (vs plastic or steel). Who knew?

    Alas, the wallpaper on my laptop screen probably won't have the same effect.

    “The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Ok, just continuing stop-the-virus info, useful in day to day living:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/opinion/coronavirus-viral-dose.html 

    If you don't like NYT, essentially 'dosage matters'. They seem to be working off of virus behavior in general, especially corona's good friend Saars.

    But what is significant, is low-dosage can be a no-biggie for many, and future protection too. High-dosage, all bets are off. And high-dosage is not only distance, but how long. Both.

    I'd wondered, at the grocery, and Home Depot. Presumably get in, avoid, get out. Quick.

    Hopefully, we'll see more corona-specific info. The gene-company here is seeing the Washington strain among 'us', not the Chinese strain. There's different ones.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Well, it's time for more religious history, and advice from a century or two back.

    The virus we're challenged with, needs a vacine (best), or an accurate antibody test, in the meantime.

    The latter provides the religious connect. A Presbyterian minister in the 18th century, apparently liked numbers and statistics. Thomas Bayes. Originator of 'Baysian statistics' ... very usable with Logos data!

    But his 'discovery' was that a condition sought, in a population unlikely to have that condition, will demand high accuracy. The reason is, that false positives can easily be greater than true positives.  You have trouble finding the real conition.

    And so, our virus (luckily so far) has a low occurance rate. An antibody test that's 96% accurate, is likely 50% false relative to actual antibodies (assuming 4% have had Covid). Not good, especially if you're planning for church services.

    And so, we salute our Presbyterian minister, many moons back.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 55,542

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • (‾◡◝)
    (‾◡◝) Member Posts: 928 ✭✭✭

    THIS works, too.  I know bcuz I found it on the interweb.  [;)]

    Instead of Artificial Intelligence, I prefer to continue to rely on Divine Intelligence instructing my Natural Dullness (Ps 32:8, John 16:13a)

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I don't 'do' this's, but hope you're doing well, JRS. Humor is good.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • (‾◡◝)
    (‾◡◝) Member Posts: 928 ✭✭✭

    Denise said:

    I don't 'do' this's

      Too many Rickrolls?  [;)]

    Doing well as in still above room temperature ... but I have often wondered whatever happened to Somsel?

    Instead of Artificial Intelligence, I prefer to continue to rely on Divine Intelligence instructing my Natural Dullness (Ps 32:8, John 16:13a)

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭

    JRS said:

    often wondered whatever happened to Somsel?

    Don't know. I thought he was 'gone', and then he made some innoculous not-really-George comments a couple years back. You couldn't fake George.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • SineNomine
    SineNomine Member Posts: 7,012 ✭✭✭

    “The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara

  • Kendall Sholtess
    Kendall Sholtess Member Posts: 207 ✭✭

    I wish I could wash my brain with soap after reading so much aberrant theology.