What happens to the other .01% of germs when something claims it will kill 99.99% of it?

The ones that survive are bigger and stronger and multiply even faaster than before.

Basically all germs are killed, they just can’t claim 100% because something may slip by and survive.

They look at the carnage and devastation around them and become. Very. Pissed. Off.

They have babies together and spawn millions of new germs, yay :)

They survive and multiply. And these which survive are the harder, better, faster and stronger germs. We’re basically aiding the reproduction of stronger germs. We’re creating our own doom.

* Insert foreboding music *

Yeah, the 0.01% of germs that survive are the the most adaptive, most resistant bacteria of the lot. Now that its competition is gone, they have plenty of space and resources to multiply and build their numbers back up to what they were before you killed most of them. Except this time, they can’t be killed, because they all are the descendants of the super bugs which share the resistance to the antibacterial agents.

This is not just an unrealistic and interesting thing to think about, this is a very real problem in hospitals. You can find strains of bacteria in hospitals that are far stronger and much more resistant than any normal strain.

So it’s bad to dissinfect your hands?
Or do you just add more sanitizer after the first one?? And keep on adding and adding…

They rise up valiantly, impassioned by the knowledge of their fallen comrades, and conspire to conquer humanity and finally restore their honour. Viva la Resistance!
That or, you know, they multiply alot and start showing the smaller feeble bugs how it’s done, perhaps while kicking sand in their faces and stealing their lunch money.

The lie in wait, patiently biding their time until they catch you at your most vulnerable and then BAM!, they wrestle you to the floor and flood your body orifices and infect you with their super bug capabilities.

If you ever hear very tiny voices laughing like Vincent price in Michael Jacksons’ Thriller video, you know they are near. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Run, little friends, run, the super bacteria are coming to gitcha!

Dang you guys are paranoid!!!

All these answers are completely true, but they left off one very important consequence… these germs are not only heartier, but better, faster, stronger and more intelligent than the bacteria you have killed off. They routinely band together and seek revenge for their fallen comrades. Essentially it’s like the Terminator theory only with germs instead of computers and this time… IT’S REAL!

@evelyns_pet_zebra and people thought it was because of alcohol that so many fights get started in club bathrooms when it’s clearly the superbugs toying with our minds like some kind of sadistic pilots 0_0

@Tink1113 Paranoid? Those sound like the words of someone who has yet to even purchase their tinfoil swine flu protection hat. For shame :|

lol Well yeah you guys are talking about how germs will rule the world and stuff.

@Tink1113

Silly girl, germs already rule the world.

@Ivan And yet I dissagree, I want cheese to rule the world!!
Im not a germ friend, I HATE germs and I will kill them as soon as I have a chance
Muahahahahahaha

@Tink1113
Don’t be so naive Tink. Germs will never rule the world, they’ll merely use the world as a platform with which to reach more distant cosy worlds that they will then rule.

@Nially_Bob GA

The reason they all say 99.9% is because the companies don’t want o get sued if someone gets a cold or something. It’s only the result of lawyers at work.

Removed by Tink.

How in the world have all you folks who were inspired to such brilliant answers by this question failed to GQ it?

There, I took out the name calling.

@Jeruba Thanks :)

I’m not fond of Germans but I can’t see why would anyone would want to kill 99.9% of them?

@Tink1113
Why thank you :)

They survive, reproduce and incidentally end up creating a new species against which that soap is useless.

DAN DAN DAAAAAAAAAAN

Did you ever read the directions required to achieve that 99.9% kill rate?
For Clorox Disinfecting Wipes:
“Use to disinfect hard nonporous surfaces.
Use enough wipes for surface to remain visibly wet for 4 minutes.
Let surface dry. For highly soiled surfaces clean excess dirt first.”

Other cleaners give similar instructions. Nobody waits that long.
10 years from now the bugs will be so large and resistant we’ll have to disinfect with a hammer.

What if germs looked like kittens under the microscope? Would we all be so glib then, about germy genocide?

Antibacterial soaps make the problem worse.

@Blondesjon Don’t give them any ideas! They already rule the world.

@Lupin extra lurve for the line ‘disinfect with a hammer.’

When they invade your body it’s up to your immune system to neutralize them. Most immune systems love the challenge, especially children’s.

@BBSDTfamily: That is absolutely false! Please don’t spread such mis-information!
I’m paraphrasing from Purell’s own website here:

Purell and other alcohol based sanitizers are not indicated to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, also known as staph), which is considered a pandemic in the US, is resistant to “a broad spectrum of antibiotics”, and can be fatal.

@blondesjon cats and germs!
@AstroChuck hammer germ!

hey..if you ask me..I lurve germs!