72% of shopping carts have fecal bacteria on the handles.

usa today- A University of Arizona researcher says you may want to grab one of those disinfectant wipes right before you grab a grocery cart. Professor Charles Gerba, the lead researcher, swabbed the handles of 85 carts in four states for bacterial contamination.

Gerba says 72% of the carts had a positive marker for fecal bacteria. When they examined some of the samples, they found Escherichia coli, also known as E. coli, on half of them.

Researchers say they actually found more fecal bacteria on grocery cart handles than you would typically find in a bathroom, mainly because bathrooms are disinfected more often than shopping carts.

Since most stores do not routinely wash and disinfect their carts, it's up to you to do it.

Scientists say this study helps explain why earlier investigations found kids who touch the handles, are more likely than others, to get infected with bacteria like salmonella.

Gerba also says you should pay attention to what you put in reusable shopping bags. Make sure your meats and veggies are wrapped because bags that are not washed on a regular basis can become a what he called a "bacterial swamp."

That is really gross. But you know what's grosser than gross? The guy who discovered this. Professor Gerba traveled to four different states, all in a quest to find shit particles on shopping carts. What a nightmare. Sometimes you're better off not knowing about things like this. I'm surprised this guy can ever even leave his house. He knows for a fact that pretty much everything in the world is covered in shit. And if he's unsure about someting, he will soon find out. Knowing that would drive me insane. I bet Professor Gerba stays up at night, wondering where it all went wrong. He's a scientist, he's smart. He could have come up with a cure to some disease or discover someting that would really benefit society, but instead, he is stuck doing this shitty job. Nobody wants to know this information. Could you imagine running in to this guy at a dinner party? You: "So Chuck, how's it going?" Chuck: "Do you know that almost 3/4 of all shopping carts have fecal bacteria on the handle?" You: "That's great Chuck. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stand over there."