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

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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.

Attempting to wash away the virus with just water and no soap is ineffective. Why?

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About TED-Ed Animations

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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