Boards
Has anyone else ever been skeeved out by the idea of playing beer pong at a party full of random people, or is it just me? I mean, those tiny little ping-pong balls aren’t only ending up in your plastic cup of beer. They’re also rolling all over the floor that’s been stepped on a million times, landing in dark, dusty corners and then being hastily rinsed off in a cup of lukewarm water that hasn’t been changed in at least an hour. Ugh. Yuck.
As it turns out, I’m not just being an uptight germaphobe when I get freaked out by this – a new study shows that beer pong really can bring along a bunch of icky bacteria that can potentially get you sick. As the New York Daily News put it, “The most dangerous part of playing beer pong might not be drinking too much beer.”
A group of students at Clemson University in South Carolina recently did a little research about beer pong (which, in case you have no idea what I’m talking about, is a really popular drinking game where you throw ping-pong balls into cups of beer) and what they found might turn you off from the game for a little bit. They tested balls used in a few different games and discovered that these balls were housing dangerous bacteria like salmonella, e. Coli, staph germs and listeria. Since the balls end up in your cup of beer that you’re then going to drink, the bacteria spreads from the balls into the beer… into your mouth.
The students found the most bacteria on ping-pong balls that were used in outdoor games of beer pong. They also found that when they dunked the balls into the cups of beer, the bacteria most definitely transferred over into the beer.
Obviously, I didn’t need any study to tell me that beer pong comes along with the risk of catching some kind of sickness. I rarely play (not because of the germs, more because I can’t throw for my life and it’s embarrassing), but whenever I watch games, I constantly witness the ball that’s being used get filthy. While most games come along with a cup of water to rinse the ball in, it really doesn’t make much of a difference. The water cup is usually pretty dirty itself. And I’ve noticed more than a few times that the longer the drinking goes on, the less the ball gets washed at all.
But does this research mean that playing a game of beer pong ensures you’ll come down with something in a few days? No – it’s not that serious. Professor Paul Dawson, who led the students doing this experiment, says, “Ninety percent of bacteria are probably harmless, but by virtue of sheer numbers, you’re taking a chance of getting sick.” Obviously not everyone who plays beer pong gets sick and even reports of feeling crappy the day after might not mean it’s from the ball bacteria – it could just be from partying too much.
Still, if you’re of age, keep this in mind the next time you play beer pong. Oh, and guys? Please use this as a reminder that a) underage drinking is bad and b) sharing cups (or balls) with anyone is a bad idea. You don’t know what other people have!
Do you know anyone who has ever gotten sick playing beer pong? Do you think this is a stupid study? Tell me in the comments.
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