Don't fear the reaper...or pooper.

Around half of American women no longer "sit" in a public restroom. They either use a paper seat guard or they hover. Neither of these methods are really effective. Paper seat guards really don't protect you from any germs, plastic would be better but isn't as easily flushed. Hovering only leads whoever does it to leave a mess for the next person, thus not really solving the problem.

You are more apt to get germs from the things you lay your hands on in a bathroom than what you lay your rear end on. In tests done in public restrooms, the tampon dispenser and the floor were found to be the dirtiest surfaces in the entire room - the toilet was the cleanest.

Despite the men's room looking like a complete sty, it actually has less bacteria. Women bring in small children and spend more time in there. The number of bacteria to time spent exponentially increases due to this.

Things you can do to avoid as many germs as possible in the women's room:

- don't put your purse on the floor. you are carrying the bathroom with you if you do.

- don't use the blow dryer. it's just taking germ filled air from the bathroom and blowing it directly onto your hands.

- pee at home. seriously.