Good germs?

[JonathanParticipant]

Are there good germs? Does anyone know what this means? Up until the late 19th century most people died of infections in the U.K.

[ArchiveParticipant]

To be fair… There have got to be more good germs than bad… And for the ‘bad’, our incredibly amazing bodily defences make them look paltry.

I wonder about such ideas as ‘Bontamination’. Some bloke has written a book about it…

Wannabe

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[ArchiveParticipant]

I tend to go along with the idea that there are indeed ‘Good germs’. How else would we survive?

In the dictionary, a ‘germ’ is defined as being a ‘tiny life form that causes disease’. Now, in order for our natural immune systems to work at peak efficiency, they need to be challenged. Much like a muscle needs a load to strengthen on.

The word disease… or ‘Dis-ease’, can be considered to mean ‘Discomfort’. Not at ‘Ease’.

But immunisation is reliant on a small amount of ‘dis-ease’.

Dr Edward Jenner, who is often regarded as the father of Vaccination, discovered that milkmaids would be largely resistant to Smallpox, which was a killer during his lifetime. They did however get ‘Cowpox’, a milder illness, that only lasted a short time, and did no lasting harm(?). So he set about giving people the Cowpox illness, which would make them feel under the weather for a short time, but most importantly, they became resistant to the more dangerous ‘Smallpox’. Incidentally, the word Vaccine derives from the Roman word Vacca for Cow.

So… What about good bacteria then?  Blue cheese has bacteria on it, in fact ‘All’ cheese needs a certain amount of bacteria in order for the cheese solids to form. Yeast, for making bread rise, things like that… Maybe anything with a natural chemical reaction? And as for Yogurt… Well… To some schools of thought, it is entirely bacteria!

On the kitchen worktop, bleach… But in the stomach, it is said to be marvelous.

What about this weird idea of ‘Bon’-tamination then?

Well, the prefix ‘Bon’, refers to the French ‘Good’. As opposed to the prefix ‘Con’, as in Contamination, is entirely negative, bad, if you will.

I do rather like the word. Cos when we pause to think about it… Good things are better than bad. Always. So if, by touching something, we are transfering good, as well as maybe a tiny bit bad, We are actually doing everyone a favour. At worst, we are inadvertently helping to make others around us stronger, and at best… Whatever you like… It is all good.

We are talking about microscopic things… Not always visible to the naked eye…

So… Do I ‘Con’taminate’, or ‘Bon’taminate’ the world around me? Well… I prefer to think positive about things… It is less prone to worry me. Just like a child… I want to please those around me. (Good luck with that one!) I have an innate need to be comfortable… Warm, dry, not particularly thirst or Hungry… In fact… ‘Just about right’, is a ‘good’ state to be in. ‘Favourable’, if you like.

So… Let’s hope for at least, A  ‘Favourable’ outcome, whatever task we are faced with today.

If there was no ‘Bad’, would we even notice the ‘Good’, to compare it with?

Wannabe

 

[ArchiveParticipant]

A thought comes to mind here… In Baking, Bread flour can be said to contain ‘Wheatgerm’.

Why is it given the name ‘germ’? Anyone like to try and answer this?

Wannabe

[Author]

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