Calvin's Things to Avoid: 5 Disease Ridden Summer Vacation Destinations

These locales would strike terror in even the heartiest of Bacillophobe. If you visit, make sure to bring lots of hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, and rubbing alcohol.

Groauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, California. One of the most popular sights in Hollywood, Grauman's Chinese Theater is best-known for the hand and footprints of celebrities preserved in the cement in the ground in its forecourt. Millions of tourists visit every year, and every one of them are sticking their hands and feet in the prints on the ground and snapping photos!

7 Diseases Transmitted on Dirty Hands: Salmonellosis, Shigellosis, Hepatitis A, Giardiasis, Enterovirus, Amebiasis, and Campylobacteriosis.

St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy. Pigeons, pigeons, pigeons! Pigeons are everywhere, flapping their wings and standing on visitors' head to gain the attention of food-toting tourists. To some, they are just a nuisance. To others, they can transmit diseases through the transmission of bird lice that feast the thousands of pounds of bird guano they produce every year- try not to let them land on your head or shoulder.

11 Diseases Attributed to Exposure to Bird Guano: Histoplasmosis, Candidiasis, Cryptococcosis, St. Louis encephalitis, Salmonellosis, E.coli., Bed bugs, Chicken mites, Intestinal canthariasis, Hymenolespiasis, West Nile Virus

Karni Mata Temple, Rajasthan, India. This ornate, isolated Hindu temple was constructed as a tribute to the rat goddess, Karni Mata. Intricate marble panels line the entrance and the floors, and silver and gold decorations are found throughout. The floors are a living tangle of undulating fur as small, gray and brown blurs of living rats scurry across marble floors. Thousands of rats scamper over their feet and dine with the pilgrims.

10 Diseases Transmitted Through Exposure to Rats: Hantavirus, Pulmonary Syndrome, Murine Typhus, Streptobacillus moniliformis, Salmonella, Enterica Serovar, Typhoid, Leptospirosis, Eosinophilic Meningitis, Plauge

Wall of Gum, Seattle, Washington. What had started as visitors began simply sticking their gum to the wall while waiting in line in the 1990s has become bizarre tradition at Seattle's Market Theatre in Post Alley. Now it has turned into an intriguing yet very germy attraction: a giant wall of gum, resulting in a colorful if somewhat gross sight after nearly two decades of gum gathering. Some more artistic visitors have even sculpted shapes and faces out of their masticated gum.

13 Diseases Transmitted Through Saliva: Commons Cold, Flu, Upper Resperatory Infection, Meningitis, Bacterial Meningitis, Mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr viruss, Cold sores, Cytomegalovirus, Molluscum Contagiosum, Hepatitis B, Chronic Hepatitis B, Polio

Blarney Stone, Blarney Ireland. Five miles North West of the city of Cork is the village of Blarney. Near the village, standing almost 90 feet in height is the castle of Blarney with its world-famous Blarney Stone. Nearly half a million people come to kiss the Blarney Stone each year, in the hopes of gaining more eloquent speech.

7 Diseases transmitted through kissing: Upper respiratory tract infections, Glandular fever, Herpes infection, Hepatitis B, Warts, Meningococcal disease, Tooth decay


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