We all know the routine: You make a wish and blow out the candles. But now in COVID-19 times comes the question: Is everyone around you also making a wish that you aren’t sprinkling bacteria onto their slice of birthday cake?
As one Washington Post writer puts it, the act of blowing out candles on a birthday cake has always been pretty gross, if you really think about it. But the fear of droplets and spreading COVID-19 has made people rethink the birthday cake all together. A 2017 study—long before we were all worried about things like this—showed blowing out candles resulted in 1,400% more bacteria showing up on the icing surface compared to a cake that hadn’t been … celebrated on. That percentage is, unfortunately, not a typo.
“Someday, when we are freed from pandemic purgatory, when our birthday parties no longer involve a grid of pixelated faces on a computer screen, will we still dim the lights and sing as a glowing cake slowly glides into the room? Should we even want to go back?” Caitlin Gibson writes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously, the National Candle Association is trying to stay positive. Its president says retailers have reported no signs of a slow down in sales, adding “I don’t think people are going to be inclined right now to give up things that make them feel good.”
The growing concern, though, has led some celebrators to fashion makeshift “cake protectors,” which could be a new business idea on its own.
Read on for the rest of the story, which appeared July 20 in the Washington Post.