Okay. I admit it. If you’ve never eaten with me, yes, I do on occassion lick my fingers after I eat. Here and there. It’s not all the time. And, yes, I get it…it’s gross to other people. But, oh my god, it’s so good to savor those last morsels of flavor that linger on your fingertips when you eat food with your hands. Here’s a list of a few foods that make it SUPER challenging to not lick my fingers after eating:
- BBQ
- Ribs…still in the BBQ family, but different
- Chicken, and then you have the subcategories:
- Rotisserie Chicken
- BBQ Chicken
- Fried Chicken…mmmm….chicken…
- HOT WINGS!!!
- Pizza
- Fries
- Burgers
- Popcorn
- Chips
- Finger foods in general
Okay, that’s a long enough list.
No matter how good the food is, it’s still something I HAVE to stop doing around anyone but myself. It’s gross and, realistically, pretty unhealthy. I mean, I wash my hands before and after meals. Especially if it’s a messy meal, like the aforementioned food items.
But, am I going to try and lie and say that there has NEVER been a time that I haven’t forgotten to do that? No. I’d like to, but I won’t. So, in order to give myself inspiration for enforcing this rule I did some research.
Authoritative reasons why finger licking is gross:
- Well, duh…
- It’s been considered bad etiquette by the etiquette aficionados for forever
- Seriously, they just changed etiquette rules to deem eating with your hands okay, but you still cannot lick them clean.
- I read it on the internet.
- And then, I read it again.
- And, also my girlfriend, my mom, my sister, and just about every woman I respect in my life has told me not to do this.
Authoritative reasons why finger licking is unhealthy:
- Human skin carries many small organisms, including germs and bacteria.
- This includes viruses that cause colds, the flu,”strep” and “staph”.
- Small germs have to be in the right place at the right time to cause illness. i.e. Your fingers in your mouth.
- Germs can survive on your hands for some time.
- Just touching a door handle can pick up the flu virus, so touching your mouth and nose are never good ideas.
Clearly, I am super awesome at this whole research thing.
But, really, it’s not entirely necessary to develop a comprehensive citation list to make the claim that you shouldn’t lick your fingers. The one exception that I can think of to this rule is, like I stated, if you are by yourself at home where no one can see you indulge on the food left over on your fingers, and you have washed your hands recently. Ugh…writing this so grossed me out. I’m going to go take a shower now.
And here is a rap song about fried chicken and finger lickin’…You’re welcome: