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Which is better: Soap or hand sanitizer? - Alex Rosenthal and Pall Thordarson

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50,024 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

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Your hands, up close, are anything but smooth. With peaks and valleys, folds and rifts, there are plenty of hiding places for a virus to stick. If you then touch your face, the virus can infect you. But there are two extraordinarily simple ways you can keep that from happening: soap and water, and hand sanitizer. So which is better? Alex Rosenthal and Pall Thordarson investigate.

Hand sanitizer contains high concentrations of alcohols such as

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Pall Thordarson, Alex Rosenthal
  • Director Igor Coric
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Igor Coric
  • Animator Igor Coric
  • Art Director Igor Coric
  • Compositor Igor Coric
  • Sound Designer Weston Fonger
  • Music Weston Fonger
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Fact-Checker Joseph Isaac
  • Special Thanks Kim Preshoff

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