Dirty money harbors bacterial dangers
There’s a new reason for laundering money. Dollar bills support a rich flora of bacteria, some of them infectious, say research physicians Theodore W. Pope and Peter T. Ender of the Medical Center of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
They worked with Michael A. Koroscil at Beavercreek (Ohio) High School, who originated the idea for a science-fair project. The group counted the bacteria living on 68 dollar bills collected from people in line at a high school sporting event and a grocery store.