Culture
New York's ATMs Teem With Nasty Stuff
Skin bacteria, mold, and parasites on ATM keypads can tell us a lot about New York’s habits and communities.
When you withdraw money from a New York ATM, you’re sticking your fingers into a microbiome as diverse as the city itself. Traces of human skin, mollusks and fish, rotten baked goods, and household surfaces like TVs, bathroom counters, and pillows—these are all things scientists have found lurking on the buttons of New York’s cash machines.
Much gross stuff has been written about the microorganisms splashed all over the city’s subway system. Researchers from New York University wanted to perform a similar investigation into ATMs, because—with all the grubby fingers jabbing them—they evolve similarly fascinating worlds of microbes.