World's worst travel assignment takes in Europe's dirtiest places

25th of July 2016
World's worst travel assignment takes in Europe's dirtiest places

A British travel presenter is in surprisingly good health after being sent on an excursion around Europe - licking its dirtiest and most germ-infested places.

Ian Wright's yucky tour included a trip with his tongue along an escalator handrail; sucking kindergarten toys; licking a handrail on an underground train; drinking from a half-consumed beer bottle from a full skip; licking the headset in a busy public phone box; sampling a variety of door handles and sculptures in public places; running his tongue over a flush button in a train toilet; and licking the floor of a Russian toilet.

The bizarre challenge was set for him by Finnish probiotic drink manufacturer Valio, to support the launch of its Gefilus drink - said to build the body's immune system with helpful bacteria. Wright drank a bottle of Gefilus a day.

Throughout the trip Wright used a handheld device, a luminometer, to take swabs and assess the presence of bacteria. Some of the readings are alarming.

His tour started in Helsinki and moved to London via Örebro, Warsaw, Moscow and Frankfurt. Along the route Wright met doctors, professors and scientists in-between licking challenges. He was given a clean bill of health on completing the tour.

Wright's exploits have been turned into a 25 minute documentary, The ‘Lick­hiker's' Guide to Inner Strength which is available on YouTube.

 

 

 

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