If you're a regular traveller on the capital's tube here are some facts which you are going to wish you hadn't read. :)

During Autumn 2000, a team of scientists from University College London removed a row of passenger seats from a Central line tube carriage for analysis into cleanliness. Despite London Underground's claim that the interior of their trains are cleaned on a regular basis, the scientists made some alarming discoveries. The analysis was broken down.

This is what was found on the surface of the seats:

4 types of hair sample (human, mouse, rat, dog).

7 types of insect (mostly fleas, mostly alive).

vomit originating from at least 9 separate people.

human urine originating from at least 4 separate people.

human excrement.

rodent excrement.

human semen.

When the seats were taken apart, they found:

the remains of 6 mice.

the remains of 2 large rats.

1 previously unheard of fungus.

It is estimated that by holding one of the armrests:-

you are transferring to your body, the natural oils and sweat from as many as 400 different people.

It is estimated that it is generally healthier to smoke five cigarettes a day than to travel for one hour a day on London Underground.

It is far more hygienic to wipe your hand on the inside of a recently flushed toilet bowl before eating than to wipe your hand on a London Underground seat before eating.

It is estimated that, within London, more work sick-days are taken because of bugs picked up whilst travelling on the tube than for any other reason (including alcohol).



Happy eating :D

What about a Subaru Loan car then??

Wonder what would be thrown up if the analysis boys were let loose on the back seat of those ;)

Pete

Pete,

don't think you'd really want to know ;)

How do you know that I cant account for at least SOME of it ;)

Pete

Uncanny, sounds exactly like my old student house

Mark,

I think the difference is that London Underground claim to clean the interiors of their tubes ....

since when did students ever do any cleaning :D

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/pukeface.gif

interesting, though you really don't want to think about the actual infrastructure with regards to the conditions of the rails and trains themselves, and this is not only on LU but certainly connex south east.

Let's put it this way, if the tracks are fine and dandy then why do they have ultrasonic crews that go around and test the condition of the rails by ultrasonics? surely this is not needed on nice strong and safe steel rails?

So are you really doing that pregnant woman a favour by offering her your seat?! :D I NEVER sit on the Tube always stand. Rebecca you forgot about the various things floating in the air! Nice!

quote,
"4 types of hair,vomit from 7 people,urine from 4 people,excrement,semen".....Sounds like a good night to me:)


eeerrrrggghhh,thats disgusting,i will never travel by train again!

luverly stuff :eek: - get'em over to Japan to check here too!

I have a strange feeling of deja vous here. I'm sure I've seen this before. Here maybe? :rolleyes: :D

Eek - I once fell asleep on one of those seats :eek:

DW

And you gullible people believe any old crap you get sent via email!

Joey,

why wouldn't you believe it?

I just spotted this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Which seems to be one reason not to believe it....


Another crazy email doing the rounds (and driving CityRail mad). Within 24 hours, Trish Nicklin, of Epping, got one version, purporting to give the results of a survey by "the Department of Forensics at University College, London", the other, as she says, miraculously changed to be a survey by the "Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of NSW". They claim that the cleanliness of London Underground/Sydney CityRail passenger seats is "alarming". The seats' surfaces showed human, mouse, rat and dog hair, seven types of insect, vomit from at least nine separate people ... it gets worse and worse. When the seats were taken apart they found the remains of six mice and two large rats. We'll stop there. The only thing missing is that they don't start "This really happened". Trish comments: "I suppose there'll be an Adelaide, Melbourne or even New York version on its way shortly."

I suppose you should do the same as us, have Stainless Steel seats instead.

In London you would only need to heat them a little in the winter as there's so much gas there anyway, of one type or another.

This is what london underground have to say about it : http://www.thetube.com/content/pressreleases/0201/30.asp

'Study' email is a hoax
A hoax email is circulating purporting to contain details of a "study" carried out on Tube seats.

The work is alleged to have been carried out by the Department of Forensics at University College London in autumn 2000, and involved the removal of "a row of passenger seats from a Central Line Tube carriage for analysis into cleanliness".

This email is now in wide circulation but is a hoax.

The facts are:

University College London doesn't have a Department of Forensics
that no such research has been carried out, and the claims are a complete work of fiction.

So it was a hoax or is it just plausible deniability? ;)

Sorry watching far to many consipiracy movies... :rolleyes:

I wonder what they would find if they actually did do a study like this.

BTW Rebecca, it has been far to long. Good to see you posting! :D

It is still dirty ,smelly and full of muppets

Can't comment on the Tube story but my only recent experience of taking the train was pretty disturbing:

I took the 6.30 a.m. Thames Train into Waterloo from earley near Reading just before Christmas so's I could see aclient in London before going to our Christmas bash near the Tower of London.

I bought my ticket and the porter blokey suggested that I shouldn't go over to the waiting room on the correct platform as someone had broken a window and it was cold.

(It was cold too - bloody freezing) I went over anyway 'cos I didn't fancy having to run over the bridge when the train came in.

When I got into the waiting room, sure enough the window was broken which was bad enough, but in the opposite corner was a pile of poo.....(I'm no expert but it looked human...)

When the train came in, one of the carriages was taped up as most of the windows were broken, so we were cramped from the word go.

By the time we got to Staines, people were standing in the corridors, then the driver announced that he was (unspecifically) unhappy with the safety of the train and was unprepared to take it any further, so we all had to get off and wait for the next train which was predictably full!

I ended up getting the next slow train which, true to it's word took bloody ages to get to Waterloo where I arrived at about 10.00 a.m. two and a half hours after I set out!!!

....and I paid 22 quid for this privilege.....no wonder the government can't wean people out of their cars!!!!

Mark,

stop trying to confuse me with a different user name :D

Actually it is quite plausible ... you'd be surprised/shocked/horrified/repulsed etc etc what they can do forensically speaking these days ;)

Timbo,

Are yuo sure it wasnt southwest trains?

Brian:

The only problem with the tube in Hong Kong is that the steel seats are an ideal way to make friends.

I hadn't quite got the knack of clenching my bottom to stop me sliding into the person next to me! I don't know how long it took the natives, but I couldn't see any velcro / special material on their trousers ....

Steve.