Pass the Purell: It's hip to be germ-free - MSNBC

They pull their sleeves down over their hands to open doors, surreptitiously sanitize while on buses, subways and airplanes. At the gym, they towel off their elliptical trainers like car detailers in search of a $100 tip. At work, they’re ready to break out the Clorox the minute somebody coughs.

Who are these incredibly sterile souls? They’re the citizens of a germ-conscious segment of the country you might call hand-sanitation nation.

“I notice more and more women in the bathroom using paper towels to open and close the door, or dashing out behind somebody else so they don’t have to touch the door at all,” says Mary Wilson, 38, of Seattle. “People will use their knuckles to punch elevator buttons, and the grocery stores all have Handiwipes to wipe off the baskets now. I’m sort of a closet germophobe, but I’m beginning to feel like much less of a freak these days. Other people are doing the same quirky things.”...