Research Shows That Blowing Out Birthday Candles Is Just Plain Gross!

Are you the kind of person who declines a piece of birthday cake at kid’s parties? I must admit I have at times. I mean, can you blame me? I’ve seen one too may cakes covered in drool by kids who try and try to blow their candles out. And yes it’s all cute and sweet but have you ever thought about what’s been left behind in the process??

This very topic was brought to light recently after US politician Mitt Romney was seen blowing out his birthday candles by lifting them out of the cake one by one and blowing them out individually. What a guy! How thoughtful!

When asked why he used such an unorthodox way of blowing them out he explained that he had “a bit of a cold” and didn’t want to spread his germs to everyone else. What do you think? Is he being a bit OCD or super responsible?

According to a 2017 study it seems Romney is right on the money. Researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina spread icing over foil and added birthday candles on top. They then had their participants blow out the candles to see what the surface area of the ‘cake’ would consist of. The results found blowing out candles over an icing surface increases bacteria present by 1400%!!

Are you as shocked by that as we are? 1400%! That’s a whole lot of surface germs you’re ingesting right there. But before you all freak out, it’s okay. Our bodies are bacteria ridden. In fact the only body fluid that doesn’t contain bacteria is your urine. Interesting yeah?

But bacteria does not always mean bad or sick. I mean there’s a whole lot of bacteria involved in kissing..which is basically just a way of swapping spit, isn’t it?

So what do you say? I say life’s too short. Let’s just just eat the damn cake and hope for the best!!

(Fun fact: Putting candles on birthday cakes is a tradition that has been around for a very long time. It can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks who often burned candles as offerings to their gods. By putting candles on a cake it was a way to pay tribute to the Greek Moon goddess Artemis. The cakes were baked round to symbolise the moon and candles used to represent moonlight.)

Images: Pixabay