While portraying Austin Powers' father, Nigel Powers, in the 2002 James Bond spoof "Austin Powers in Goldmember," Micheal Caine utters a line that's stuck in my mind for the past 13 years: "There are only two things that I cannot tolerate - people who are intolerant of other peoples' cultures ... and the Dutch."
There may be a valid reason for Caine's character's reluctance to shake hands with the next Dutchman he encounters, according to the results of a recently released survey by WIN-Gallup International. The survey, which examined global post-toilet hand-washing practices, showed that of all European nations, the Dutch were least likely to wash their hands after visiting a restroom. Only 50 percent of Dutch poll respondents reported that they automatically wash their hands with soap and water after conducting their business.
While Caine's United Kingdom homeland scored a 70 percent post-throne hand-washing rate in the poll, it was Greece that topped Europe's cleanliness charts with an 85 percent rate.
In the Americas, Columbia proved to be the most sanitary country on both continents, posting a 93 percent post-potty hand-washing rate, according to the Gallup poll. Meanwhile, a recent poll by the Bradley Corporation showed that 92 percent of respondents in the United States indicated they believed it was important that they washed their hands following trips to the john, but an observational follow-up study showed that only 66 percent actually did.
According to a recent study by the American Society for Microbiology of those using public restrooms in five U.S. cities, Chicagoans were the most conscientious hand-washers, with 85-percent of Windy City residents making suds at the sink after spending time in the stall.
In contrast, New Yorkers were typically brusque in their post-toilet sink sessions, with only 49 percent of them taking the time to wash up after flushing down.
Maybe it's time to break out the Old Dutch cleanser, and give the Big Apple's sinks a good scrubbing to encourage more hand-washing and improve public health.
On the other hand, maybe the city's poor hand-washing practices are inherited.
It did once go by the name New Amsterdam.