The average cell phone carries more than just a contact list, it also harbors 25,107 bacteria per square inch. This fact makes the cell phone one of the filthiest surfaces people come into contact with on a daily basis. No surprise, this far surpasses public toilet seats, which measure only 1,201 bacteria per square inch.

Reports from Mashable highlight five common surfaces that are actually cleaner than the average persons cell phone.
1. The public toilet - 1,201 bacteria per square inch
2. The kitchen counter - 1,736 bacteria per square inch
3. Pet food dish - 2,110 bacteria per square inch
4. The self-serve checkout screen - 4,500 bacteria per square inch
5. A doorknob - 8,643 bacteria per square inch

According to reports from the Deb Group, Dr. Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, commented on the findings and said the results were not surprising.  

“Nobody ever cleans or disinfects their phone, so the germs and bacteria just keep building up,” he explains. What types of germs? E. coli, as well as influenza and MRSA, a germ that causes rashes and skin infections.

Deb also reported that, in a separate study, researchers found that 94.5 percent of phones were contaminated with some kind of bacteria, many of which were resistant to multiple antibiotics. By also testing the participants' hands, the researchers were able to show that a significant number of germs were transferred from their hands to their phones, and vice versa. In fact, about 30 percent of the bacteria on the phones ended up on the owner's hands.

To read more, click here.