What Type Of Traveler Packs A Hand-Held UV Germ Scanner?

October 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM | by Omri | Comments (0)

If you love getting out of the house but hate the "other people exist" part of traveling, there are a number of things you can do. Our recommendation is an mp3 player and a really good set of noise-canceling headphones. Failing that, books and earplugs work pretty well on airplanes. But there are certain parts of the world where interacting with other people's germs is unavoidable. Getting rid of all of them is impossible, you know.

But that isn't stopping travel companies from marketing hand-held UV lights, like the $79 Nano-UV Scanner, to germphobic travelers. There's a well-defined and well-justified use for UV bulbs in disinfecting water when you're camping—though there are easier ways and you better know what you're doing—but campers aren't the ones being targeted here:

Disinfecting UV scanner kills bacteria and viruses in 10 seconds. The portable Nano-UV Scanner uses ultraviolet light to kill 99.9% of germs on any surface. Ideal for sanitizing airplane tray tables, lavatory surfaces, hotel bedding, telephones, remote controls and much more, it fits conveniently in your purse or pocket for easy access anywhere.

There are three kinds of people who would be inclined to purchase this thing. The largest category are your typical SkyMall-style shoppers, who think that it's the magical germ-ridding equivalent of a neck pillow. They'll buy it, pack it maybe once or twice, and then realize that it's kind of useless and silly. No real harm done, save to their bank account.

Next we have the category of people who will use it in concentrated doses, e.g. disinfecting their airplane tray. This is the same group that carries around mini-bottles of Purell, but a tad more serious. For most of them it's really an OCD issue. It's just that they read somewhere—maybe the Barnes and Noble self-help/self-affirmation section—that it's the healthy thing to do. Five years ago they were slinging water jugs to work because "it's important to stay hydrated." Now they do this. We're not sure why disinfecting a tray is useful when you're traveling in an enclosed pressurized cabin with recycled air miles above the ground, but to each his or her own.

Then there's the third group of people, and they're the ones that concern us. These are the people who will find ways to use this all the time. They will stand over a hotel bed for 30 minutes making sure they've covered every square inch with UV light. Before that, they'll wave the wand over door knobs, shower heads, and the toilet. Not good. If you have that combination of germ phobia and sheer, unadulterated, will power-driven patience, you might be a legitimately dangerous individual. We're not sure what you'd do if, say, we inadvertently stepped into your personal bubble. So maybe not so much with leaving the house for you.

Related Stories:
· Nano-UV Scanner [Magellans]
· Travel Gadgets Coverage [Jaunted]
· Germs [Jaunted]

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