Germs in 3D: Those Glasses You’re Wearing? You Don’t Want To Know.

Reusable 3D glasses at movie theaters are kind of like, well, seats at movie theaters: we know they’re probably gross and germ-filled, but we really don’t want to know to what extent this is true.

Audiences everywhere enjoy 3D technology, many without knowledge of the germ-y truth about their glasses.

Luckily for the curious, Good Housekeeping recently published a study conducted at 7 East Coast theaters on a small sample of 7 pairs of glasses. Results?

“None of the glasses were sterile. While most of the bacteria we found weren’t reason for alarm, one unwrapped pair was contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause skin infections, conjunctivitis (pinkeye), food poisoning, and even sepsis or pneumonia.”

Researchers recommend wiping down 3D glasses with a sterile alcohol wipe before wearing. Where the alcohol wipe killed 95% of germs, a wipe with a dry tissue only got about 66% of the germs.

Researchers assured that these germs don’t pose a high risk to your health. Public doorknobs are just as germ-y and most of us don’t give a second thought to it.

With the growing popularity of 3D movies, it doesn’t seem these germs warrant developing a phobia. Still, it’s not the most comforting truth to find that enjoying new movies shot with the newest cinematic technology means you’ll be exposing your face to all sorts of fun germs.

And who knows, maybe a line of personal 3D glasses will be the next trend?

[Good Housekeeping via Gizmodo]

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1. 3D Glasses Domination
2. Glasses-Wearing Superheroes: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, No, It’s Me, Wearing My Eyeglasses