Eli5 I’ve always wonder why when you “step” in germs they don’t try to make their way to your mouth, and how is it different, when you touch your mouth with germs on your hand they know they have to go inside, but not when they’re on your elbow or leg.

Question

Eli5 I’ve always wonder why when you “step” in germs they don’t try to make their way to your mouth, and how is it different, when you touch your mouth with germs on your hand they know they have to go inside, but not when they’re on your elbow or leg.

In: Biology

Answer 1

Well, germs are really really small so going from your elbow to your mouth is like a person walking a 100 miles or so. And the germ has no idea where your mouth is in the first place.

So its actually like dropping someone in the middle of nowhere ans going “there’s a town about a 100 miles from here. Good luck” (edit: also you are blind and deaf because germs basically are.)

And when you touch your mouth they don’t *know* to go inside. Germs will multiply when the conditions are correct. You already ate them. Now they are going to multiply