Touchpoints: The Hidden Germs of Modern Life.

The Everyday Public Devices Quietly Spreading Disease Worldwide and How to Protect Yourself.

Most disease transmission does not come from dramatic moments. It comes from routine. From habits repeated so often that no one notices them anymore.

Medical and public health research consistently shows that human hands are the primary vehicle for global disease transmission, accounting for the majority of common infections, from colds and flu to gastrointestinal illness and skin infections. In public spaces, one contaminated hand can pass microbes onto surfaces that will be touched by hundreds or even thousands of others in a single day.

These devices and technologies are part of modern life. They are not the enemy. Unthinking use is the problem.

Below are 50 public devices, technologies, and shared surfaces with high disease transmission potential, each explained in everyday terms, with practical solutions that ordinary people can realistically apply.

1. ATM Keypads and Touch Screens

Transmission path

Used after handling cash, phones, or wiping sweat and noses. Rarely disinfected.

Solutions

• Use tissue, disposable glove, or knuckle

• Sanitize hands immediately after

2. Public Door Handles and Knobs

Transmission path
Hands that cough, sneeze, or wipe noses touch the handle before you do.

Solutions

• Use elbow or shoulder

• Use tissue where possible

• Clean hands after

3. Public Restroom Flush Handles and Buttons

Transmission path
Touched right after toilet use, often before handwashing.

Solutions

• Use toilet paper to flush

• Dispose immediately

• Wash hands thoroughly

4. Bathroom Sink Taps and Faucets

Transmission path

Dirty hands turn the tap on. Clean hands turn it off.

Solutions

• Use paper towel to turn off tap

• Sanitize hands afterward if needed

5. Soap Dispensers in Public Toilets

Transmission path

Pressed with contaminated hands before soap is applied.

Solutions

• Use wrist or elbow

• Sanitize hands after washing

6. Hand Dryer Buttons

Transmission path
Touched with damp hands, which transfer germs more easily.

Solutions

• Use paper towels

• Press with elbow

7. Elevator Buttons

Transmission path
Hundreds of presses daily, especially in offices and hospitals.

Solutions

• Use knuckle or key

• Clean hands after

The Ghost of Lumumba and the Silent Stand: Nigeria 2 : Algeria 0

Photo by Msn

This hits hard. Even if you aren't a football fan, what’s happening at AFCON right now is about so much more than a ball hitting a net; it’s about blood, memory, and the soul of a continent.

There is a man who always stands during the match when the Democratic Republic of the Congo plays. He remains perfectly still with his hands raised for the full 90 minutes.

There Was a Place I Used to Be, Where No One Knew Me

Catch & Release

There's a place I go to
Where no one knows me
It's not lonely
It's a necessary thing
It's a place I made up
Find out what I'm made of
The nights are stayed up
Counting stars and fighting sleep

Let it wash over me
Ready to lose my feet
Take me off to the place where one reviews life's mystery
Steady on down the line
Lose every sense of time
Take it all in and wake up that small part of me
Day to day I'm blind to see
And find how far
To go

There's a place I'm going
No one knows me
If I breathe real slowly
Let it out and let it in
They can be terrifying
To be slowly dying
Also clarifying
The end where we begin

Everybody got their reason
Everybody got their way
We're just catching and releasing
What builds up throughout the day
It gets into your body
And it flows right through your blood
We can tell each other secrets

And remember how to love

When we stood watching the sunset at Drumpellier Park, all that flashed through my mind were my years in Ukraine. I used to watch the sunset there and enjoy the peace and quiet that flowed, the freedom to enjoy nature in its simplest form. It was pure, neat, and calm.

Even though the story is still heavy, I plan to share what those last days in Ukraine felt like and the closure that telling my story might give. One day I will share it all, but for now, I will be thinking of the place I used to be, where no one knew me. It wasn’t lonely; it was necessary, and I loved it there.

Discovering The Quiet Magic Of Hogganfield Loch On A Winter Walk

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2026. This is officially my first travel post of the year, and I’m so excited to kick things off with a gem I found right here in Glasgow.

If you missed my New Year’s post, I hope your year is starting off with peace and clarity. For me, it started with a trip to Hogganfield Loch (also known as Hogganfield Park). It wasn't a hard decision to head there; it popped up while I was browsing maps for nature spots, and the photos and Google reviews looked so promising. After church, I grabbed my gear and headed out—and let me tell you, it was the best decision.

When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was how popular this place is! The car park was jam-packed. I had to circle around for a bit waiting for someone to leave, so keep that in mind if you're visiting on a weekend. There’s a cute little kiosk selling coffee and snacks, and honestly, business was booming today. Even though the sun was out, don't let those photos fool you—it was freezing.

Once I stepped onto the path, the cold really hit me. It was one of those crisp winter days where the sun shines but the air bites. The loch was nearly frozen over, though not thick enough to walk on. Before I took in the full view, I was drawn to the birds.

The variety of birds here is remarkable. The loch’s shallow waters and surrounding habitats attract a huge range of bird life throughout the year. In winter especially, you’ll see Whooper Swans, sometimes arriving all the way from Iceland, and Common Goldeneye Ducks bobbing on the water. There are also Great Crested Grebes, Goosanders, Tufted Ducks, Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal, and more mixing with the usual mallards and swans. In the grassland and marshy edges, warblers and buntings make themselves heard in the warmer months, and woodlands host tits, blackcaps, and willow warblers when spring and summer arrive. Over 150 bird species have been recorded here, including occasional rarities, so birdwatchers will find plenty to enjoy. I saw two people with professional cameras taking photos.

A Vast Horizon by Anna Thomasson: A Story of Art, Friendship, and Freedom

Some books transport you to a different time and place so vividly that you can almost feel the sun on your face and the breeze on your skin. A Vast Horizon by Anna Thomasson is one of those books. Published by Pan Macmillan, it reads like a richly woven tapestry of art, friendship, freedom and fear, all set against the storm clouds gathering over Europe in the late 1930s.

Picture this: Imagine yourself in the late summer of 1937, in the South of France. A group of artists and free spirits have gathered for a picnic in a secluded glade, their laughter echoing through the trees. Dresses are loosened in the heat, shoes are cast aside, and a couple share a playful kiss. In that sun-dappled moment, Lee Miller lifts her camera and captures something timeless. This snapshot will come to define the magic and recklessness of youth. That image is where Thomasson begins her story.

From here, the book unfolds like a conversation under the stars. Thomasson introduces us to the circle of friends around that table: the daring photographer Lee Miller, the impossibly brilliant but complex Pablo Picasso, the Surrealist icons Man Ray and Dora Maar, the poet Paul Éluard and his wife Nusch, and others like the dancer Ady Fidelin and artist Eileen Agar. Some names you might recognize, others you might not, but by the time you finish the book, you feel as though you’ve walked beside them through sunlit fields and shadowed war rooms alike.

What makes A Vast Horizon so compelling is Thomasson’s gift for bringing these lives to the page through the art they made, the poems they wrote, the letters they exchanged and the photographs that survived. She doesn’t just recount facts; she invites you into their world, showing how art and friendship and love were their anchors even as the specter of war loomed ever closer.

As the years move on, the carefree days of that Mediterranean summer give way to the harsh realities of the Second World War. Plans shift, loyalties are tested, and the very notion of freedom changes as Europe descends into turmoil. What I loved most was how these real people, rebels in their own way, struggled to hold onto creativity and connection in a time that sought to tear everything apart.

In a way, this book feels like a bedtime story told around a fire: it is vivid, it is alive with colour, and it lingers in your thoughts long after you’ve finished reading. I found myself turning pages late into the night simply because Thomasson writes with that rare combination of intimacy and sweep. You can almost hear the laughter of that summer picnic, feel the tension of the war years, and sense the resilience in the friendships that endured.

And that makes me think about today. What does it mean to seek freedom and creativity when the world feels heavy with uncertainty? How do we hold onto our friendships, our art, and our passions in times of upheaval? These are questions that stayed with me, echoing long after I closed the book.

Anna Thomasson herself is no stranger to exploring such rich human stories. Based in London, she came to this project with a deep grounding in biography and an eye for the details that make history feel personal. Her first book was widely acclaimed, and A Vast Horizon confirms her gift for bringing complex lives into clear, compelling focus.

If you love books that feel like journeys, that make history feel like a conversation, then A Vast Horizon is one to savour. It isn't just about art or war or friendship. It’s about how those forces shape the best and most vulnerable parts of ourselves.

Questions that linger:

What would you hold onto if your world were changing around you?

How do friendship and creativity sustain us in uncertain times?

Is a "safe" life worth living if it’s built on a lie?

Which of these figures do you think carried the greatest burden, and why?

These are the thoughts I’m still carrying with me. And I think that’s the mark of a book that truly matters.

A New Dawn: Happy New Year

Key Verse

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).

Text —Isaiah 43:15-21

Message

God in His infinite mercy has brought us into another year. Praise the Lord! A new year brings us into a new realm of glory to experience more of God’s blessings. “Every sunset is an opportunity to reset. Every sunrise begins with new eyes,” says Richie Norton. A new year marks the beginning of another circle of our lives. We need to spend quality time praising and appreciating God for keeping us alive to see this day. We also need to reflect on our past life and plan for the days ahead of us in this year.

God has promised to do a new thing for youths and for you in particular this year. Begin the year with total devotion to His plan for your life to get the best from Him. Unfortunately, many youths will spend this day with immoral activities, all in the name of celebrating a New Year. As for you reading this piece, give your heart wholly to the Lord this year as only those devoted to Him can fully enjoy the new things He has promised. Happy New Year!