Peanuts or peenuts?
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Discoveries | 23 comments
Photo: Bowl of peanuts
Working freelance in Soho (London) in the 90s was fun. The economy was buoyant and there was the buzz of cash, talent and hope. People worked hard and played hard too. Playing hard was the best part. The bars were packed at lunchtimes and early evening. This is where a lot of freelance people made contacts that might bring them new work.
Generally I was too busy to need to do this, but if the telephone didn’t chirrup then simply drifting down Wardour Street often bought work. You’d bump into someone on the pavement, have a drink in a bar and suddenly you had a new contract.
One of my favourite clients was a producer called Ross. Talented, debonair and very much his own person. He had toppled from millionaire to penniless and gradually trekked his way back up again. A real grafter.
His favourite evening dive was Zilli’s bar. A chic place with great bar snacks, appetisers and free peanuts. These complimentary treats can sustain a happy drinker for an extra hour or two in a buzzing bar so everyone tucked in, including Ross.
Then one terrible Sunday he read an article in his newspaper. Someone had carried out tests in the amount of urine present in bowls of countertop nuts in London and Paris bars. The results would have had a Health and Safety officer reaching for his notebook in a trice. Ross’s heart ran cold. How much urine had he unknowingly consumed over the past twenty five years?
So from then on he demanded his own personal bowl of nuts at Zilli’s, poured straight from the jar. He was happy. A super clean place like that wouldn’t pour the uneaten nuts back into the jar. Would they?
Some people think that the idea of urine on peanuts is an urban myth. No one seems to be able to unearth the details of who carried out the study. Since I heard this story, I have avoided grazing on any bar nuts except from the expensive individual packs.
Perhaps the nut magnates ‘sponsor’ studies every now and then.
Leave a reply
Funny! I always try and stay away from those mystery bar nuts, but after a few too many beers they can be hard to resist. I’ve linked to your post from my blog, hope you dont mind.
Hey Steve, one other way to escape the restroom without touching the door handle is to save your paper towel after you dry your hands and use that to open the door instead. I notice a lot more wastebaskets being moved by the restroom door to accomidate this habit.
Not to make a gross conversation even worse, but I would like to point out that folks do more than just pee when they go to the restroom, and if there wasn’t a problem with not washing your hands, why does the health department put up all the nice stickers to remind folks that they need to wash their hands before they go back to work in a resturant? Many hepatitis outbreaks have been traced back to resturant workers not washing their hands before going back to prepare food.
After reading the comments about people that wash thier hands then have to get hold of the door handles that have been used by folk that haven’t, tonight I had a talk with my friendly landlady about this problem!
She has agreed to have the (two)toilet doors into both the ladies and the gents reversed.
As from next week, we will have to pull the doors open (with our reasonably mucky paws) but after washing them, we will be able to push the doors open. This means the “unwashed” can continue to use thier hands, whilst the more discerning can keep our hands clean, and push them open with our foot! yay! result!
I’m with mandi on this one.
Oh look, Sid has added you to our blog roll! Because you liked his beef and oatmeal stew…
If you look on Snopes urban legend page here http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/mints.asp
you can see what they have to say about urine on mint candies in those bowls by a cash register, and also learn that Johnny Depp was mentioning pee on peanuts on TV.
Granted that I try to avoid peeing on my hands, wash after flushing – just how much do we estimate is picked up off a doorknob when exiting the bathroom (interesting thought, why call it a bathroom, never bathed in a restaurant – but I digress) anyhow if the doorknob doesn’t feel wet, how much is going to be transferred.
Judy
When I worked for one of the big hotel chains (in Sydney) we wouldnt put the bahau mix out on the bar, but when groups would sit at the little cocktail tables we would take a little bowl to each table.
When that tableloads left, we chucked out whatever was in the bowl.
Then again, a rough as guts suburban pub I worked in used to put out crackers, nuts, cubed cheddar & dip on a corner of the bar at 5pm. Happy hour.
I didnt even like touching it when I had to empty it at 7pm.. and wash it up. I used to scrub it with floor cleaner. LOL. We had some seedy characters in that hole.
If i was hungry I would make a little plate of cheese & crackers to stash over where the patrons couldnt touch it.
That sounds *bad*!!
BTW: You’re on my blogroll now. 🙂
I say no nuts as I’m allergic….but I would not be all that bothered about the wee….I worked in a pub and saw worse than that! Regards to the ladys – there are usually far fewere women in a pub!!
I love bar snacks though – do you remember punjab puris??
I can wholly believe the story about urine but part of me thinks this is probably an urban myth?
Urine when it leaves the body is actually sterile, being the best thing to apply to wounds if caught out in the open and no source of water to flush out a cut or wound , someones wee ( hopefully someone you know well who hasn’t any ukky secret ladies ( or mens) place diseases, is the best thing to use.
Wee on nuts wouldn’t bother me for this reason I’d be more worried of things under nails after picking noses and body crevices…eewww starting to feel a little green at the gills just typing that one…
But I’m sure a bit of stale wee wee won’t do you anymore harm than all the nuts themselves or salt or E numbers in their coatings will.