Bacteria Elimination Boxes

Have you heard of these things?  I just read about them on Rocket24.  Libraries in Japan are using them to eliminate germs in library books. This is what is written about them:

 

“Using the Bacteria Elimination Box is simple and free for everyone. Just open the door and place your book on one of the shelves. Close the door again and hit the on switch in the top right corner. If you see a blue glow through the window on the left, that means it’s working. The extermination process only takes 45 seconds, and while your book may not look any different when you take it out, it should be relatively germless. Plus, the whole process somehow reminds us of the cool containment unit they used to have in the movie Ghost Busters…

The blue glow within the box accompanies the emission of bacteria eliminating UV rays. According to one of the managers at Kihara Corporation, the company that manufactures these boxes, the box is effective against Yellow Staphylococcus, E. Coli, and other microorganisms, as well as the influenza virus.”

 

I haven’t seen one at my library, but I will be watching out for it. I’m all in favor of getting rid of germs, without a lot of cleaning work.

Sad news in Japan
I learned yesterday that the oldest person in the world and the oldest man ever, Jiroemon Kimura, died in Kyoto prefecture of natural causes at age 116. Misao Okawa of Osaka has now become the oldest living person at age 115.