'I'm a microbiologist - you should never order tap water from fast-food places'

02 March 2024 , 18:08

915 0

Viewers were shocked to see the amount of germs from a water dispenser at a fast-food chain (Image: Getty Images)

A microbiologist who has gone viral on TikTok has shown the worrying amount of germs on a fast food drinks dispenser.

Tim Call, from Utah, posted a short nine-second clip on the social media app comparing the bacteria collected from a popular chain versus "what it should look like". The first clip, from the fast-food chain, shows a much dirtier and germy orangey-brown liquid compared to a much clearer sample seconds later.

It was posted by the 32-year-old alongside a viral Spongebob sound which says "And why aren't you in uniform? It's about time you got here!". Thousands of people have liked and viewed the video which was posted this week. The difference sparked a lot of shock and concern among viewers who were disgusted by the discovery.

READ MORE: Paramedic convicted in Elijah McClain death sentenced to five years in prison

Quarkz commented on the video saying: "I’m never asking for a cup of water at a restaurant again!" While another woman added: "Yeah, when I was working at one place it really taught me that those machines don't get cleaned enough." A third said: "Please test coffee makers and water dispensers at hospitals.... they're so gross."

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Recently, Tim, whose profile is called @WhatMightGrow, posted some disturbing findings while testing cinema popcorn for any lurking grime. He often has bad news for germaphobes, having previously hit the headlines for sharing shocking details about everything from hand dryers to kitchen sinks.

Tim frequently tests commonly used products and spaces for bacteria, horrifying users by revealing just how dirty surfaces can be. In his latest experiment, the scientist, who has over 317,000 followers on TikTok, tackles movie theatre popcorn.

The Utah TikTokker made the strange discovery by going to the cinema, and getting some fresh popcorn from the stand, as well as going into a theatre and collecting a handful off of the floor. He starts first by testing the fresh popcorn, adding a liquid to the bag, mixing it, and popping some pipets of the substance onto a petri dish.

The microbiologist then does the same with the floor popcorn. Finally, he grabs both dishes and pops them into the incubator. In a timelapse video, he then shows the difference between the two – and it’s safe to say the five-second rule is out when it comes to dining at the cinema.

For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to

The fresh popcorn dish looks practically completely clean, while the other has grown thousands of bacterial colonies, as well as large patches of fungus. The post was captioned: “In this fun experiment, I went to a movie theatre and tested the popcorn they sold.”

One person said: “Five second rule is debunking right there.” Another commented: “The final growth is kind of beautiful.” A third added: “That’s it for the three second rule.” One more joked: “So what you’re saying is; I shouldn’t eat popcorn off the floor anymore?”

“I will be sure to stop eating floor popcorn, thank you!” said someone else. "Carpet popcorn,” added another user. “Omg that is so much worse than I thought it would be!” said one more. Tim often posts to TikTok to educate others on just how dirty everyday items can be.

“I make this content because I’ve always been curious about what was growing around me and I wanted to visually see it,” said Tim. “It’s starting to visually answer many questions that people have had.

“The cleanest thing that I tested that surprised me was gas pumps at gas stations. I thought they would be filled with bacteria due to the amount of usage but was surprised to see there was very little growth, only five colonies grew.”