Why the cold?
 

Why is the soap dispenser modeled after the cold? Soap can't kill viruses, just bacteria!

I'm pretty sure regular soap is strong enough to kill a lot of viruses including Rhinoviruses.

You don't understand- You can't kill any viruses! Do you know why there's no cure for cancer, the flu, AIDS, or the common cold?

Actually, they're pretty easy to kill when they're not in a living person.

True, but if you were washing them on your hands, wouldn't they already be on/in you?

True, if you were already sick, washing your hands wouldn't do you much good.

If you are trying not to become sick, though, washing your hands would probably kill the viruses exposed to the soap.

The water does most of the work in hand washing, soap helps of course, especially for the stuck on stuff and it also makes you keep your hands in the water longer. The goal of handwashing is not necessarily to kill the viruses or whatever but to wash them off, I don't care if there is a live rhinivirus in the bottom of the pipe as long as it is not on the hand that is about to put food in my mouth :)! 297hakr is right, it is easy to kill the virus outside of the body, same with bacteria and other microbes, the challenge is when they are inside, many things that can kill them can make us sick or kill us too (think of bleach, or cooking) :eek:.

One reason I think it is modeled after the common cold is that it is essentially a public service announcement, the best way to prevent the spread of the cold and other nasties is to wash hands, especially after blowing your nose or sneezing. I got a nasty cold that I got while home for the holidays and when I came back here was very careful, frequent handwashes and such, and no one here got it, so it works!

I agree with the people who say handwashing does prevent the cold.
 

My brother washes his hands so much that his skin is really dry all the time, and he's gotten one cold in the last year!:D

Tell your brother to put on some lotion or something, having dried cracked skin is an open invitation to pathogens. The skin is very good at keeping the bad things out as long as it is intact.