Q Toon: Getting to Know You

A scientific study that found its way into the news last week found that there are more bacteria in men's beards than there are in the fur of dogs' necks.

This further bolsters the age-old discovery that dog slobber is cleaner than a human kiss.

Now, I don't know what conditions were present in the beard/fur study. Had the human subjects been eating corn on the cob recently? Had the dogs been kept in the house? Had the humans?

I do know that dogs don't cover their mouths when they sneeze. That would probably trap more germs and bacteria on their faces instead of releasing thousands of airborne snotlets into the wild in search of the next human beard to happen along.

Personally, I've had a beard on my face since 1994, which is older than any dog I know. I do shampoo it regularly, and I'm not wearing it down to my waist like some guys you've seen; but the fact remains that it has had more opportunity to meet bacteria than a dog born in 2007 has.

Even though I don't greet passers-by in quite so intimate a fashion as dogs are fond of.