Also, damaging the reputation of stupid Americans further. No one if France is going to want to contact Americans after this.
U.S. triathlon Seth Rider has decided to stop washing his hands after going to the bathroom in a bid to increase his resistance to the polluted River Seine.
The men’s individual triathlon race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been postponed as the water quality in the Seine is still below regulatory standards. The race was meant to commence on Tuesday but has now been delayed until Wednesday, although the water could still be harmful to the athletes.
To gain an advantage and avoid potential illness, Rider is taking drastic action by not washing his hands and believes there is science to support his theory. “We know that there’s going to be some E. coli exposure, so I just try to increase my E. coli threshold by exposing myself to a bit of E. coli in day-to-day life,” Rider said.
“And it’s actually backed by science. Proven methods. Just little things throughout your day, like not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom.”
“Backed by science.” What science was that, Seth? Citation please. You’re not evolving resistance to E. coli, and it’s not just one kind of bacterium we’re concerned about. You know, hygiene and cleanliness are generally good ideas.
This is reminding me of those stories of men who don’t wash their asses that were going around before.
He’s far more likely to make himself too sick to compete.
This is why I dislike shaking hands.
@ ^ chrislawson : Here’s hoping. That could set a good deterrent example of what NOT to do..
Thing is, aren’t there meant to be medical staff there who could advise him better and say no?
I’m guessing that he’s a MAGAt who “does his own research”.
He’s asking for it.
@3–
Yes, all the Olympic teams have medical staff. Doesn’t mean they’re listened to…
Another idiocy in this — humans carry E. coli in their gut from the first or second day after birth, so he already has a lifetime of exposure. Most E. coli strains are harmless or even helpful to humans. The purpose of counting E. coli in water is as a marker for contamination risk. He does not seem to understand any of this.
this just seems especially dumb, unless he is participating in multiple events over days, just risk getting infected during the event, and then actually get sick and recover afterwards. That way, you are at full capability for the competitive event, and it will probably take several hours or a day or so to set in.
He’s just likely to make himself ill and be less competitive for the event, and possible get another infection during the event…
There’s a reason why widespread sanitation has resulted in longer life expectancies…
This idiot is an embarrassment a country that already has too much of that, thankyouverymuch. I hope he gets at least twice the public ridicule Simone Biles got four years ago.
Let’s hope the French authorities force Rider to wash his hands with strong soap before he touches their nice clean river.
As for the dumb jock stereotype, Tommy Tuberville has that secured for at least through 2026.
@billseymour #4 you don’t need to be a fascist to be a moron.
Unfortunately scientific illiteracy spans the political spectrum.
Also, @PZ, do you still want to have have “Tweet” among the “Share this” options?
He somehow has a college degree but is unaware that hand washing is basic hygiene like brushing your teeth?
Food poisoning is the reason we wash our hands every time you use the toilet and before cooking or eating.
There is no such thing as building a tolerance to ingesting E. Coli, not to mention all the other bacteria and organisms that are in polluted rivers.
My first, second and third thought: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0La3aBSjvGY
My impression is that there’s an unusually high prevalence of stupidity among professional sportspersons.
Thinking of him shaking hands wonder if his compettors know about this, what they think of it, how they will react and whether they will turn down any professered handshake from him or refuse to offer him one and have to explain why?
Argh. Proferred handshake I meant of course.
Well obviously, he’s just exposing himself via the oral route to the organisms that are already in his gut, including symbiotic, non-pathological strains of E. coli. He isn’t exposing himself to any potentially pathological strains, or he’d already be sick. The main reason for washing your hands after using the facilities is really just that it’s an opportunity to wash your hands, so it’s a good habit. If you do harbor pathological organisms, it helps to protect others. But recycling what’s already in your gut is basically irrelevant.
Comment from Swedish observer without any stake in it:
“AAARRRRGH!😵💫”
Protect OTHERS?! That’s SOCIALISM!!!
i hear he’s also taking small doses of iocaine powder so he can best the Vizzini in a battle of wits.
That article on dudebros refusing to wipe their ass after doing a deuce or washing it in the shower is horrific. So you really can ID Trump supporters from the brown stains oozing from their pants or US flag shorts. That takes toxic masculinity to a whole new level.
Also I haven’t been this repulsed since learning about waffle stomping. DO NOT look that up online!
His biome is already in place, not washing his hands won’t change too much for him. But it can and will infect others. Wonder how many doorknobs he has contaminated. Wonder how many of the other Olympians will get sick from his stupid logic. By his logic he should be swimming in the river every day to build up his resistance, and drinking a little bit every day couldn’t hurt.
microraptor@2 so I guess you won’t be going to Ado’s handshake event in October.
Ado is a Japanese pop singer who became an instant star with her debut single “Usseewa” in 2020. It’s had over 300 million views on YouTube to date. In October 1000 lucky fans will get to shake her hand, which to me is weird enough. Handshake events aren’t uncommon for Japanese pop artists, but presumably most don’t shake that many hands at a time.
But it gets even weirder because the general public doesn’t know what she looks like. She’s kept her face hidden, including when she’s performed live. So she’ll be shaking hands while sitting in an opaque box. She’s promised fans that yes, it will really be her in the box, but how will anyone truly know?
Just go the Seine and take a couple of big gulps that ought to give you decent exposure.
I wasn’t a fan of Ralph Lauren’s uniform design even before I saw how perfectly it goes with this doofus and his inane quote.
SC
I had the same thought! Ralph Lauren has always done very preppy/ivy/tennis playing styles of clothing.
He looks exactly like a member of the Glee cast, or an entitled frat-boy who should be named something like Biff.
Update: https://time.com/7005953/triathlon-swimming-seine-water-paris-olympics/
Aren’t jokes supposed to be funny and cause people to laugh?
Pretty sure I caught a dose of the bacteria Clostridioides difficile (C. diff for short) by not washing my hands enough. I was fortunate enough to only suffer from a mild bout of chronic diarrhea (and not to infect either of my elderly parents while staying with them over the holidays), but it can be extremely debilitating, causing life-long problems with your gut, and can be a life-threatening condition in the elderly.