A 2009 study released on Global Handwashing Day, October 15, found that women are much more likely to wash their hands after going to the bathroom.  The majority of women used soap and water to wash their hands, while men needed constant, blunt reminders to wash up. We were pretty grossed out by the research proving single women are cleaner but this study really takes the cake.

The study, conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, used sensors to record how much soap was used after 250,000 people went to the bathroom.  The sensors detected that 64% of women washed their hands with soap, while only 32% of men did.

Men were also much more likely to need reminders to wash their hands, while women seemed to have internalized these messages already.  Strong messages like “Is the person next to you washing with soap?” seemed to resonate with men, while gentle reminders like “Water doesn’t kill germs, soap does.” were more effective with women.

Clean hands can prevent a variety of illnesses such as the flu, pneumonia, and intestinal worms.  Healthy hand-washing habits can also prevent respiratory and eye infections 

(Source: CNN)