Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Urine is not "insanitary". It's entirely sterile, in fact. It used to be used to clean wounds prior to the invention of antiseptics.
Of course, there may be other reasons why one would not wish to have a urine-soaked book (warping due to the liquid, or the smell of it) but "sanitation" is certainly not an issue.
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I've examined a lot of urine samples in my day, but even the cleanest catches have some bacteria in them. Urine is not, repeat, not "sterile." Even the healthiest person is going to have the odd E-coli in their urinary tract, as well as some other non-pathogenic flora and fauna.
Moldy bread was also used as a poultice before the invention of antiseptics. That doesn't mean that moldy bread is sterile ... it just means that it has antiseptic properties.
Urine is generally fairly acidic in pH, and the more acidic the urine, the more it behaves as an antiseptic. I know that the urine on a jellyfish sting is considered to be an old wives tale that some studies have disproved, but other studies support .... but then, moldy bread was out there in old wive's tale land until someone discovered penicillin.
I've been on the beach, and I've been stung. And, yup ... a friend peed on my foot. And, it did feel better ... so who knows?? But, I'll guarantee you it wasn't because my friend's pee was sterile.