International Law

China As Center For Dirty Money. Literally.

By Dan

As anyone who has been to China knows, it is very much a cash based economy. Not that long ago, I had to use cash to purchase an airplane ticket at Biejing Capital Airport.

So obviously there is a lot of cash in circulation in China. 

Now it turns out that China's cash is way dirtier than cash elsewhere in the world. Dirtier in the sense that it carries more disease. Seriously. And if you don't believe me, check out "Dirty Money: An Investigation into the Hygiene Status of Some of the World's Currencies as Obtained from Food Outlets," written by about fifteen scientists. (h/t Beyond Brics)

Yup, China's banknotes have more bacteria per square meter than anywhere else and some of that bacteria is pretty scary. China's banknotes lead in Bacillus cereus, Staph aureus, and Salmonella and they rank high in E. Coli also. 

Just thought you should know. 

Full post as published by China Law Blog on March 27, 2011 (boomark / email).