A story that hit the news in June ruined that for me. Oh, there were lots of clever titles about it, so let's just pick one at random. Okay, here we go: What Makes Your Eyes Red in the Pool? Hint: It's NOT the Chlorine.
Yep, that's right. Turns out the more we smell chlorine, the more people have not exited the pool for - well, you know. THAT. And this isn't just any old survey, either - the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says it's so. The science behind it, says the CDC chief, is that "nitrogen in the urine combines with the chlorine and it forms what's known as chloramine." Which, though "chloramine" sounds much better than "pee+chlorine," it isn't as palatable a name fusion as, say, Brangelina, which while unoriginal and overused, at least doesn't have anything to do with anyone's pool water.
The news doesn't stop there: Travelzoo told us this summer that 64 percent of Americans, 58 percent of Canadians, 46 percent of Britons, 44 percent of Germans and 41 percent of Chinese admitted to relieving themselves in a pool or the ocean. (There is a "while on vacation" qualifier for these stats, but really - do you think it makes a whole lot of difference in the numbers?)
I want to thank the CDC and Travelzoo for delivering information for this very important pretend file of mine: Things That I Would Rather Not Know About.
I haven't noticed fewer people at my indoor or outdoor pool, so I guess everyone has decided that they can live with a little chloramine. But I will say that I'm starting to look sideways at the grownups and children near me, and I keep a close eye on whether they're visiting the restroom or not. Because I swear, once those Travelzoo figures get above 75 percent, I'm outta there.
© 2015 A Bit of Brie/Anitabrie
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