Why do people forget all their clean habits at the petting zoo?

We're getting pretty conscious of what good disease and infection control means in this country, what with instant hand sanitizers, toilet seat covers, and signs reminding us to wash our hands in public bathrooms. But somehow all that great effort flies right out the window when it comes to petting zoos, where the majority of safety precautions to limit people's exposure to organisms like E. coli, salmonella, cryptosporidium, and campylobacter are frequently not followed. The simplest of interventions, like washing hands when leaving the petting zoo, were not done by people as often as 77% of the time in a recent survey.

Now that you know there's no excuses: wash your hands! And save the snacks and drinks for later.