Double dipping and using mirrors for itch relief

Why is double dipping frowned upon? Does it actually transfer oral bacteria from the chip to the dip?

Scratching an itch is bad for the skin. What if you can relieve an itch on one arm by scratching your other arm while tricking your brain with a mirror?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth review research ideas from ChatGPT and discuss the microbiology of double dipping and how to scratch an itch using a mirror.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 2:21 Evaluating research proposals from ChatGPT
• 18:18 Double dipping study
• 28:14 Mirror scratching study
• 35:53 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Trevino et al., 2009. Effect of biting before dipping (double-dipping) chips on the bacterial population of the dipping solution. Journal of Food Safety. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-4565.2008.00137.x

• Helmchen et al., 2013. Itch Relief by Mirror Scratching. A Psychophysical Study. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082756

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