Quarks - How Clean Are Our Toilets?

It is an indispensable part of our lives and yet we don't like to talk about it: The toilet. In the course of our lives, we spend around six to nine months on the toilet. And yet the quiet little toilet and everything that happens there is a taboo subject. In fact, the modern toilet is one of the most important achievements of our civilization. Just how important the toilet is for a society can be seen where it is lacking: around 2.5 billion people in the world have no access to clean sanitary facilities and thus have a significantly greater risk of contracting epidemics and diarrhea. Toilets are the most intimate place we have. It's where we want to feel undisturbed and safe. But in times of Covid-19, restrooms have become a place of increasing insecurity, especially public ones. What is the risk of infection in public restrooms? Where do most germs lurk? And how can we protect ourselves from them?