I find the London Underground a singularly fascinating place. It's by turn enthralling and maddening: the wonder of it's size, age, complexity and diversity coupled with the almost comic manner in which it so easily breaks down makes it one of the most central experiences of living in this 2,000 year old Roman city.
One of the most commonly cited series of 'facts' about the London Underground is the statistics surrounding its dodgy hygiene. A chain e-mail has been doing the rounds for years which claims to quote from a scientific study (supposedly carried out by Department of Forensics at University College London) on a randomly-selected tube seat which found:
- 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
It's an intriguing notion and a fascinating read. Unfortunately, it's total bollocks. There is no Department of Forensics at University College London and no such study has ever been carried out - that we're aware of. Yet I've heard this story cited as fact almost a dozen times since coming to live in this city. Rumour-mongering that Julius Caesar would have approved of.
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I've said it before and I have to say it again: why does everybody else's subway system look nicer than ours (New York City)? 9 sources of vomit?!?!? What I wouldn't give to sit in _just_ 9 nine sources of vomit!
Cardinal Cormack toura-loura 800 years Fields of Athenoy Murphy O'Connor.
I dislike being in underground train systems.
The photo is very clear. What camera did you use, please?
Yeah but that looks like one of the posh lines, like Northern or Jubilee. They're not all as spacious and modern - and I'm pretty sure the Bakerloo line has more vomit to offer.
At least you have a fooken underground... in Dublin we vomit OVER the ground. A lot.