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Comment by dlwdlw | Hacker News Reader

One interesting thing ive noticed about chinese culture are the heuristics around cleanliness. Vegetables are always washed vigorously and cooked. Salads and sandwiches and other raw-like things are rather disliked. Hands are washed after petting dogs/cats. Slippers always worn around the house. Dislike of carpets. Windows opened every morning for fresh air. Other random stuff.

The safety heuristics cant be delegated to a larger system as one doesn't exists so individual households maintain this knowledge and many of them turn into habitual preference.

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For some reason your comment shows grayed out to me, making me think it's been downvoted. I don't know why this would be downvoted.

FWIW I've seen the same behaviors you described in most developing economies where people don't seem to trust the larger system. I don't know if the end result is any better - food borne illnesses are still quite common despite these 'heuristics' (as you aptly named them), but there might be far more causes than just unclean veggies.

I remember watching TV growing up... Full house or whatever family sitcom. The kids laid the bed with their shoes on, school clothes. My mom comments on how dirty that is.

Additionaly it seems like only textbook are Americans using paper towels to open bathroom doors after washing their hands. My mom instilled that at a young age (I'm 36 now). Now it irritates me to see a Dyson hand dryer, and have to open the bathroom door by pulling it.

From a European perspective, I so often notice this in American movies. Everybody constantly with shoes in beds an sofas, apparently without a thought. Always grosses me out - it simply would not ever occur to me to put my shoes on furniture.

Even when I'm completely black out, shitfaced drunk, I still manage to pull my shoes off before falling onto my bed.

The one time I couldn't manage to get my boots off, I just sort of awkwardly slept with my legs hanging over the edge of the bed.

But you wore them right up to your bed, not taking them off at the door? :O

I have wooden floors, so I'm not too concerned about wearing shoes inside.

This chain has made me curious; has there been any study of the negative health consequences of people's behavior with shoes within their living space? I'm not aware of any health concerns (major or minor) over such a thing.

For example, if such things were a worry then I'd be more concerned over my dog's bare paws while outside and his nonchalant attitude of not wiping them as he comes inside.

In my family shoes are left outside the house; they never come in.

I've only taken to using paper towels to open doors, after realizing how everyone touches that thing after using the bathroom. Why do bathroom doors open to the inside?

It's even worse in the cinema, where there's a lot more people using it and only those dyson things. Plus not everyone washes their hands. Some only sorta wave their thumb and index finger under a bit of water.

You forgot to mention the Chinese habit of drinking hot water: https://radiichina.com/the-history-of-drinking-hot-water-in-...

Interesting. I often wonder if dressing (mainly vinegar and salt), is one of those preferences that play a role in salad safety.

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