Your kitchen is a lethal weapon

Even if you've thrown out the eggs, it's still not safe to go back into the kitchen.

According to news reports, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health surveyed thousands of home cooks and concluded "Yuck!"

According to the report, discussed in my favorite Center for Disease Control magazine, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, one out of seven home kitchens would not get a passing grade if they were a restaurant. Only 61 percent of homes would get a grade of B or higher.

According to the report:

An estimated 87 million cases of food-borne illness occur in the United States each year, including 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths, according to an Associated Press calculation that uses a CDC formula and recent population estimates.

Many outbreaks that receive publicity are centered on people who got sick after eating at a restaurant, catered celebration or large social gathering. In this summer's outbreak linked to salmonella in eggs, several illnesses were first identified in clusters among restaurant patrons.

But experts believe the bulk of food poisonings are unreported illnesses from food prepared at home.

Danger In the Sand

Despite rains here in Boston that could only make Noah happy, Summer is really here.

Before you relax and enjoy yourself in the usual ways, consider my earlier reports that grilling meat will kill you, your swimming pool will kill you, and the Sun will kill you. And don't even think about a staycation.

Ok, you say, why not just slather on 5 gallons of SPF 5000 sunblock and head to the beach?

Because the sand will kill you. Or at least make you sick. According to a study by some people in white coats, people who play in beach sand were 20-24 percent more likely to report gastrointestinal illness and diarrhea than those who just looked at it with horror and ran away.