That really is stupid; if they had used the tiniest bit of logic and common sense, they would have realized, as I did, that you can just skip the sponge middle step entirely, and put your dirty dishes and silverware directly into the microwave for sterilization. Duh.

This time I cannot say "Only In America".

Hmm, I don't own either a microwave or a cell phone and I rarely watch television. What does that mean?

how about a sponge? Do you own a sponge?

Hey, I do own a sponge! Can I be part of the cool group now?

Speaking of sponges, I use a color system. Red and yellow sponges stay in the bathroom, while blue and green sponges stay in the kitchen. That is all.

Can I be part of the cool group now?

No. You blew it by having a colour-coded sponge system, instead of using the same sponge for everything - dishes, bathroom, washing the car, putting on makeup, removing makeup, soaking up spillages ...

why would you put your spooge in the microwave?

Hahahahah. But, in all fairness--I think this could've just as easily happened over here; America doesn't hold the rights to idiocy--does it?? (Except for your retarded government of course;))

why would you put your spooge in the microwave?

So that's what makes men sterile.

I'm not sterile but then I use a George Forman grill for my spooge.

Okay, I'm just going to take a wild guess what Spooge means...

is that a grill just like the grill that married dear old dad?

is it a complete myth that a German or Dutch lady sued Philips Eindhoven because the microwave instructions did not say you can't dry your pet dog in this? And won?

≡ Click to see image ≡

When I last took a trip into the U.S., I didn't find a spongeworthy man.

/me nods in agreement with paulsc, winds up smashing ice cream cone into his forehead

And using the microwave to do something that can be done more effectively with isopropyl alcohol or bleach is just D-U-M.

My cat eats my sponge if I leave it out after washing the dishes.

Wilder: yes.

We just have to accept that sponges are inherently nasty, even if cleaned frequently. They're bacteria jungles by the end of a single day; the food-handlgin experts say you can only consider them clean if you disinfect them after each time you clean with them. Sponges are just not sanitary and we shouldn't pretend they are. They're just wipers. They pick up crumbs.

Personally, I can live with that. I don't have Daily Sponge Disinfection Time. I'm a very neat, clean person but not afraid of germs, and I don't think reasonable people have to be, unless they have immune disorders or infants in the house and such. Good Lord, I'd be dead a hundred times over by the age of ten if we were so terribly fragile.

That cavalier attitude is, of course, balanced with the knowledge that our obsession with antibiotic and antibacterial everything is creating Superbugs, and that factory farming means our meats, produce, and eggs are far more likely to harbor evil critters than ever. But I think the prevention is mostly simple - jeez, just wash stuff. Wash produce for salads, wash meats, wash your dishes and put them right in your cupboard with clean hands. Wash your hands. You know.

So, not naive, but not going to start microwaving sponges anytime soon.

Oh gods, we're corrupting hadjiboy.

And yeah, I ain't about to begin nuking sponges (or spooges). I use cheap white washcloths that get changed every few days and get the hell bleached out of them in the washing machine.

Use Sploogex^™ for your whitest whites.

Most people still don't know that microwaves work by heating OH bonds and if you don't have OH bonds bad things are going to happen.