# Why you should wash your hands



## JBCM627 (Jun 26, 2008)

This is probably a very odd topic, but I'm posting it anyway . So I thought of this as I just finished washing some dishes, and picked up a cube... and I also remembered seeing a comment about this in a xanga post by Tyson forever ago.

For some reason, washing your hands with dish soap (like dawn, or joy... not dishwasher detergent) makes the cube feel really nice in your hands. Dawn and other grease-removers have no moisturizers or other additives... they just suck everything off of your hands, and leave them feeling very clean. This is very nice for cubing, for some reason... its like my hands don't slip at all, and I have no jams or anything... its perfect. So any thoughts? Try it!


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## alexc (Jun 26, 2008)

I'm curious... I'll try it.


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## rjohnson_8ball (Jun 26, 2008)

Yes, I do that too. Palmolive dish washing soap is what I usually use at home to clean my hands. I can get my hands oil free and clean in seconds. I think I started doing that as much as 18 years ago, about the same time I started cubing. I actually think I started doing it because I was concerned about my cube stickers, and wanted a crisp, clean grip too.


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## immortalcube (Jun 26, 2008)

I do that sometimes. It gets rid of the oils and stuff on your hands, and gives you a very good grip (= better turning accuracy = fewer lockups = better times). I think the soap I use is Palmolive.


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## MechaTech84 (Jun 26, 2008)

I think this is because soaps are bases, and being bases they "melt off" a small part of you skin, mostly just the dead stuff. Without all the dead skin, your body probably gets better friction from the skin that is attached better to your hands. It's like wearing gloves, you never have as fine motor skills as your hands alone.

--Mecha
P.S. I just finished Chemistry I in high school, so if this is horribly wrong, then blame my teacher, or the education system or something... Anything but me...


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## JBCM627 (Jun 26, 2008)

MechaTech84 said:


> I think this is because soaps are bases, and being bases they "melt off" a small part of you skin, mostly just the dead stuff. Without all the dead skin, your body probably gets better friction from the skin that is attached better to your hands. It's like wearing gloves, you never have as fine motor skills as your hands alone.
> 
> --Mecha
> P.S. I just finished Chemistry I in high school, so if this is horribly wrong, then blame my teacher, or the education system or something... Anything but me...



I suppose this could be true. The pH of soaps may be correlated to how well they dissolve some things, but the thing about dish soaps is that they grab onto grease... which coats your hands... really well. Remeber Exxon Valdez? Tons of Dawn was donated to help clean up the spill... more specifically the animals with petrol all over them, as cleaning grease is something it does best. So I suppose it sort of does remove a 'glove' of ick from your hands.

If you wanted to look at it through a chemistry-oriented approach, its really a lot of trial and error, experimenting with different types of fatty acids and blends, seeing which ones can grab onto grease or other materials best. Soap molecules are pretty much just long string-like things... with a long non-polar end to grab on to grease and other non-polar substances, and a polar end to grab onto polar molecules, namely water, which can whisk it and any attached grease away. Other than knowing that, its really just straight to the lab and/or simulations. My chemistry teacher had a good word for this kind of stuff... voodoo.


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## SkateTracker (Jun 26, 2008)

Doesn't work for me, well, I don't usually wash my hands unless I'm washing dishes. (still not technically "washing your hands" but it's the general soap to hand kind of thing) And it doesn't help, if anything it makes my grip worse, that's probably just be me though.


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## shelley (Jun 27, 2008)

Theron Rabe said:


> I always thought it had to do with the fact that both oils (like what's on your hands) and soap are non-polar liquids. That's why soap makes such a good solvent for greasy stuff. So when you wash your hands with strong soaps, it cleans all the oil and junk away.
> 
> ... then again, I'm no expert when it comes to Chemistry.



You're partially right. A soap molecule has a non-polar end and a polar end. It acts as an emulsifier, allowing non-polar substances (like oil) and polar substances (like water) to mix.


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## philkt731 (Jun 27, 2008)

I feel the same way when I use handsoap while washing my hands, but coming out of the shower is horrible for me. My hands stick to the cube like no other, its really weird since you'd think it'd good


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## HelloiamChow (Jun 28, 2008)

I cube best coming out of the shower. Well, at least it feels like it. The cube feels faster, and my hands feel more active. This whole washing hands thing is pretty interesting though.


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## Carson (Jun 28, 2008)

After cubing for a while my hands start to sweat and things do get slippery. Besides just washing my hands, I often use an alcohol wipe to clean off the cube.

This has been less of an issue since I started using textured tiles.


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## Tyson (Jul 1, 2008)

Haha, whoa... that post was about how I liked cheap soap because the lack of additives allowed my fingers to have more tactile feedback on the violin...

But there's another reason why you should wash your hands. SO YOUR CUBE ISN'T NASTY FOR THE SCRAMBLERS!

Seriously... what's with people and their greasy oily cubes?


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## mrCage (Jul 1, 2008)

Hmm ...

Did anyone try to wash their hands and/or cube with alcogel? I guess it should work out pretty well. For some odd reason alcogel is hard to get in my place in Norway. Only one shop i know has it. I actually use it for cleaning hands only. My filipina wife brought alcogel into the house ;-)

- Per


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## Crzyazn (Jul 1, 2008)

alcohol nukes the skin and everything on it...

It's overkill, don't use it too much.


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## JBCM627 (Jul 1, 2008)

Tyson said:


> Haha, whoa... that post was about how I liked cheap soap because the lack of additives allowed my fingers to have more tactile feedback on the violin...
> 
> But there's another reason why you should wash your hands. SO YOUR CUBE ISN'T NASTY FOR THE SCRAMBLERS!
> 
> Seriously... what's with people and their greasy oily cubes?



Darn... I could have sworn it was dish soap, regarding cubes. I guess that was years ago though... my love for cubes may have distorted my memory of that post. Do you still have it up somewhere? 

And yeah I hate scrambling cubes like that.


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## AvGalen (Jul 1, 2008)

Another reason why washing your hands (and showering) might result in better times is that your hands are warmer and blood is flowing more rapidly

I wanted to make a subject a while ago about factors that were good/bad for cubing but never made the time. Feeling happy was a very big part of it. Being physically active was another big factor. There were some more, but most of them are not practical during a tournament. For example: the thing that worked best was cubing while being seduced/aroused (I did a semi-scientific test with a volunteer. The things I do for science ), but unless I find me another volunteer at tournaments I don't think it is useful


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## mrCage (Jul 2, 2008)

AvGalen said:


> Another reason why washing your hands (and showering) might result in better times is that your hands are warmer and blood is flowing more rapidly
> 
> I wanted to make a subject a while ago about factors that were good/bad for cubing but never made the time. Feeling happy was a very big part of it. Being physically active was another big factor. There were some more, but most of them are not practical during a tournament. For example: the thing that worked best was cubing while being seduced/aroused (I did a semi-scientific test with a volunteer. The things I do for science ), but unless I find me another volunteer at tournaments I don't think it is useful


 
Dont do those experiments when you are (get) married !!! 

- Per


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## AvGalen (Jul 2, 2008)

mrCage said:


> AvGalen said:
> 
> 
> > Another reason why washing your hands (and showering) might result in better times is that your hands are warmer and blood is flowing more rapidly
> ...


I do these experiments in the hope to get married 
Oops, I meant that we did them because of the science. Yes, that's it, scientific research


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## cubetimer (Jul 2, 2008)

I've found a lot of little things affect how I cube - having some (but not too much) coffee, how much sleep I've had...

I do think of all these little things, washing my hands makes a bigger difference than the rest. My grip is better, but it also feels almost like the temperature change stimulates my fingers or something. I know it sounds dumb, but washing your hands definitely helps.

In fact, I took some wet wipes to my last competition so that I could clean my hands just before going up. Wet wipes, by the way, also work well for cleaning your cube when you take it apart. That was the other reason I brought them.


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## Swordsman Kirby (Jul 2, 2008)

AvGalen said:


> but unless I find me another volunteer at tournaments I don't think it is useful



I'll do it.  At least for Nationals, anyway.


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## AvGalen (Jul 2, 2008)

Swordsman Kirby said:


> AvGalen said:
> 
> 
> > but unless I find me another volunteer at tournaments I don't think it is useful
> ...


Deal, but will you be there physically or will this be a phone thing?(Shanghai, China)


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## masterofthebass (Jul 2, 2008)

Nope, he'll be there. He makes the trip from China every summer to come and compete in the US Nationals  I think he's Driving up to Boston right now though.


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