Wearing Shower Flip-Flops

College life is definitely a period of time that is different from any other life experience. Students find that they are studying late into the evening and 3 a.m. seems like a strangely normal bedtime. Ramen is a staple in their diets and running out of quarters for the laundry machine is the equivalent of a full scale crisis. Jokes abound about the food being served at the school's cafeteria and "pulling an all-nighter" to finish a paper for one class but sleeping through all of the other classes is a story that many students can relate to. However, one aspect of college living seems to be strangely debated, although many would argue that it truly is not an issue to be argued. This issue, whether or not to wear flip flops in the shower, is seen as a necessary hygiene protocol by some and an example of hypochondria by others. As a resident of a fully inhabited college dorm, I would like to present "The Case for Shower Flops."

While many people see wearing such shower footwear as an over-the-top health freak issue, the truth is really not quite so. Instead, the floors of college dormitory showers are abounding in all sorts of nasty bacterial colonies. During a freshman biology course several students chose to grow a swab of their shower floor in a petri dish as an experiment. The result showed a significantly larger number of colonies growing within a one week period than any other area tested on the campus. Additionally, the form of these colonies was not limited to one or two types; instead, many different colors and forms of bacteria were found to be present upon the shower floor.

Besides the terrifyingly large number of bacterial colonies growing on the shower floor, the number of students who openly declare their tendency to urinate during their shower time should be reason enough to invest in a pair of shower shoes. While it is arguable that urine is generally fairly "sanitary" and that urinating in the shower actually saves on water bills, it should be noted that most people don't really enjoy splashing around in their own urine-much less someone else's. Although most fluids should drain during the duration of one's shower, it should be noted that not all of the liquids do; if they did, then the shower floor would never be wet when the water wasn't running.

Finally, during even the rare part of the day where the shower floors are the cleanest, residents should decide to wear flip flops. Many of the chemicals used to purge the shower floors of their friendly little bacterial colonies are harsh to the human skin. Although the bottom of your feet tend to be decently calloused, it does not hurt to provide them with relief from potentially harmful chemicals by simply wearing a pair of shower flip flops.