[nemo1618]

After Christmas this year, I removed the tree from our living room, and in the process of being moved, it shed of needles everywhere. I swept them up, but I missed a few areas on my first pass. So I did a second pass, but when I looked again, I saw there were still a handful left. It struck me how removing >99% of the needles was nowhere near acceptable! Lots of cleaning jobs are like this, I suppose, because even a tiny mess can be visually distinct. In fact, as you approach 100%, the remaining mess stands out more.

[abustamam]

In some cases (like this), 99.99% isn't enough. 100% is mandatory.

I moved into my house a few months ago and while I was exercising my foot discovered a nail that I guess was left by the previous homeowner/tenant/builder. Fortunately it was just a scratch, but it could have easily turned into a trip to the ER.

With a baby learning to walk and crawl, the tolerance for cleaning up nails on the floor is absolutely 100% (or 0% nail) so I scoured the entire house carpet with a strong magnet to ensure there no other surprises. I did this several times just to make sure

This was a few months ago and yet I still tend to have anxiety when walking on the carpet now.

[dizhn]

It's like those antibacterial soaps that remove 99.9 percent of bacteria. It's not obvious whether that's number of bacteria or type of bacteria but either way the remaining ones are probably in the millions and of many types.

[keane]

Sanitizing efficacy is total organism count. Hand sanitizers are regulated by the FDA and tested in vivo using ASTM 1174 (Health Care Personnel Handwash / HCPHW test) and ASTM 2755. E1174 tests for Serratia marcescens or Escherichia coli. E2755 tests for S. marcescens or Staphylococcus aureus. ASTM E1174-21 includes a precision and accuracy statement. The FDA explains: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/09/06/2016-21...

[dizhn]

Only the USA is bound by the FDA though. The rest of the world will claim whatever they can get away with. Though yes, it is likely they mean the same thing.

[jagged-chisel]

I love how the visual representation of that in TV ads always leaves a couple bacteria swimming around.

[nextaccountic]

Removing that much bacteria from our own hands isn't even something desirable or good

I mean, unless we are doing open heart surgery with no gloves or something

[Maxatar]

Nah... a typical human hand has in the hundreds of thousands of bacteria if it hasn't been washed in awhile, not in the millions.

Washing with soap reduces it down to the thousands and sanitizers reduces it another order of magnitude down to the hundreds.

[betenoire]

exactly how I feel every time I weed the yard. I'll end up with a pile of weeds, look over my work and see weeds everywhere still

[boogieknite]

then close my eyes to go to sleep 10 hours later and see them all again