The coronavirus epidemic has provoked health services to give recommendations as to how people can prevent the spread of infection. The key piece of advice has been to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly.
Official services like the NHS London, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital SF and health secretary Matt Hancock are suggesting you wash your hands to the tune of 'Happy Birthday'.
To ensure your hands are thoroughly clean, you need to sing the song twice so that you're washing for at least 20 seconds. And you need to use hot water and soap.
Apparently 'God save the Queen' is another option but something tells me not many people in Ireland will be taking that up...
"You should wash your hands with soap and hot water... for as long as you're singing either 'Happy Birthday' or 'God Save The Queen."
Health Secretary @MattHancock on how to stop the spread of coronavirus. @BBCkatyaadler pic.twitter.com/hUnaXcpYXj— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) March 1, 2020
Other suggestions are coming in too, for example, many suggest singing your ABCs.
TIP: sing your ABCs when you wash your hands. That’s about the right amount of time for washing. Also, you can really nail the alphabet.
— Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) February 28, 2020
We teach preschoolers to sing the ABC song while washing, to make sure they wash long enough. It works for grownups, too. https://t.co/oArrVuE1dN
— Liz Szabo (@LizSzabo) February 26, 2020
But there are plenty of really fun songs to fill up those 20 seconds too - seriously, you can have a pretty sweet mini karaoke with yourself at the sink with these bad boys.
If you don’t want to sing Happy Birthday (twice, slowly = the recommended 20 seconds) or God Save The Queen, might I recommend the chorus of any of the following:
• Mambo No 5
• Maniac 2000
• Bat Out of Hell
• Cher’s Believe https://t.co/UzW45SQtIm— Nicky Ryan (@NickyRyan_) March 1, 2020
Alternate ~20-second songs to sing when you wash your hands:
- The Beatles, “Her Majesty”
- They Might Be Giants, “The Theme from Flood”
- "The Other Father Song" from Coraline
- “The Bad Horse Chorus” from Dr. Horrible
- Nerd Herder, “Doin’ Laundry”
- Lots of TV theme songs— Sarah Shay (@TheSarahShay) March 2, 2020
Official advice is that you should wash your hands for as long as it takes you to sing "Slipknot - Duality".
— Daniel Pryor 🇺🇦 (@DanielPryorr) March 2, 2020
You're supposed to wash your hands for 20 sec, which is the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. But I'm tired of singing Happy Birthday and you probably are too, so I've done the very important public service of compiling other songs with roughly 20 sec choruses to sing:
— Jen Monnier (@JenMonnier) March 2, 2020
2. Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)https://t.co/2WZENLjTeR
— Jen Monnier (@JenMonnier) March 2, 2020
4. Jolene (Dolly Parton)https://t.co/GTl8UOwpf4
— Jen Monnier (@JenMonnier) March 2, 2020
6. Truth Hurts (Lizzo)https://t.co/kELQZTfYky
— Jen Monnier (@JenMonnier) March 2, 2020
Other officials have suggested to wash your hands while singing the first verse of the English national anthem.
We reckon you'd need two verses of the Irish national anthem; but heck, why not be really thorough and sing all of 'Sinne Fianna Fáil'? Your country will thank you.