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Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
NFL draft in Green Bay: League's smallest market prepares to host its biggest offseason spectacle
GREEN BAY — Corey Behnke was a 7-year-old attending a Green Bay Packers preseason game with his grandfather when he pointed to the homes across the street from Lambeau Field and vowed to live there eventually. Now he has one of the best spots to watch as the NFL's greatest offseason spectacle takes shape. The NFL draft's annual pilgrimage to cities across the league is arriving in Green Bay next week with all the pageantry that comes from operating in the home of the league's only publicly owned franchise. 'I think it's going to be iconic in a way that other drafts aren't,' said Behnke, now president of the neighborhood association of the area adjacent to Lambeau Field. As soon as the NFL started taking its draft around the country nearly a decade ago, Packers officials wondered what it would take to bring the event to Green Bay. They realized they never would get a Super Bowl because of Green Bay's small population and frigid February weather. Hosting a draft would be the next-best thing. The possibility that Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy envisioned so long ago now becomes reality just as he prepares for his retirement this summer. As draft-related construction continues in the area around Lambeau, one of several Packers-themed signs in the yards of homes across the street from the stadium includes this message: 'Draft Dreams on Murphy's Turf.' 'We'd been seeing how the draft has grown and what it's become and knew the kind of impact it would have, not just on the local Green Bay community but the entire state,' Murphy said. 'Since we're a community-owned team, that's really one of our top priorities is to give back to the community. It'll be the largest event ever held in Green Bay.' Therein lies the challenge. The Green Bay metro area includes about 320,000 people, according to Discover Green Bay spokesman Nick Meisner. The city itself has a population of less than 110,000. Bringing the draft to a town of this size creates obstacles that league officials didn't have to worry about when the event took place in Chicago, Philadelphia and other major metro areas. Green Bay has about 5,000 hotel rooms, a figure that gets up to 10,000 when nearby Appleton is included. That means plenty of fans watching the draft might have to stay a couple of hours away in Milwaukee or Madison, though many of them already are accustomed to doing that for Packers home games. 'When people say, 'Can the city handle it,' well, what does that mean?' Behnke asked. 'Do we have enough hotels? No, but we knew that. Does Wisconsin have enough hotels? Yeah, I think so. 'I think a lot of people (understand) the fact that it's going to be a driving event. People are going to drive here. But I also think that's how games are. … I think people are kind of used to driving an hour and a half or two hours to get to Green Bay.' The smaller population likely means a smaller number of people at this draft. Murphy said a total attendance of about 250,000 is expected, less than one-third of the record crowd of more than 775,000 that attended last year's draft in Detroit. Crowd figures are measured by adding the attendance numbers for each of the draft's three days, so one person who attends all three days would be counted three times. 'The beauty of the draft is you can adapt it to any environment you're in,' said Jon Barker, the NFL's senior vice president for global event operations. 'With each draft, there's always going to be challenges that you need to overcome, but there's also great opportunity.' Those opportunities involve focusing on the tradition and history of a place Behnke calls 'the best football town in America.' For instance, one of the NFL's greatest training camp rituals occurs in Green Bay each summer, as players borrow children's bicycles to ride from the locker room to the practice field. Packers officials referenced this tradition in their draft bid by sending a Packers-themed bike to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's office. 'We had our draft pitch in video form in the basket in the Packer bike,' said Gabrielle Dow, the team's vice president of marketing and fan engagement. Without giving too much away, Barker said part of Thursday's draft opening will incorporate that bike tradition. A bike parade for children is planned for Saturday. There are other local connections as well. When first-round picks hear their names called, they'll go through a walkway featuring artwork from Milwaukee-based Ike Wynter, who will have made each of his pieces of reclaimed wood from discarded furniture collected across the state. Former Wisconsin Badgers such as Jonathan Taylor, Joe Thomas, Tim Krumrie and James White will be announcing picks on the draft's second and third days. Lambeau Field also will play a central role in the draft, though the sprawling event encompasses millions of square feet surrounding the stadium. Admission is free and television screens all over the area will enable fans to watch even if they're far from the stage and taking in the NFL Draft Experience, a fan festival featuring games, exhibits, activities and autograph sessions. When probable first-round selections make their red-carpet entrance Thursday, they'll walk onto the field known for its 'Frozen Tundra' nickname. Fans will be able to go into the stadium to watch the draft on the giant scoreboard. The stage on which the picks are announced is in a parking lot just east of Lambeau Field. 'I think it'll be a three-day commercial not just for Green Bay but for the entire state,' Murphy said. 'So many different things that are unique and special to Wisconsin, you'll see that as a part of it.' It also will showcase how much growth has taken place in the area around Lambeau Field. The Resch Expo, a 125,000-square-foot facility just east of the stadium, opened in 2021 and will serve as the green room for draft prospects. The NFL Draft Experience will be at Titletown, a 45-acre development just west of Lambeau Field that features offices, shops, restaurants and apartments. 'If those developments don't happen, I don't think we get the draft,' Meisner said. The draft should have an economic impact of $20 million for Brown County and $90 million for Wisconsin, according to Beth Jones Schnese, Greater Green Bay Chamber vice president of marketing/member engagement. She said that equates to the amount generated by three straight Packers home-game weekends. It also means some inconveniences for local residents with all the road closures and traffic headaches. Then again, this community is used to expanding for several weekends each football season. This is just a supersized example. Behnke knows that as well as anyone. His family has owned Packers season tickets since Lambeau Field opened in 1957. He was born in Green Bay, started living across from Lambeau Field full time about five years ago and cofounded the Cheesehead TV Packers fan site. He believes the Packers are ingrained in the Green Bay community in a way that's different from other cities that have multiple pro sports franchises. They're accustomed to accommodating fans who consider visiting Lambeau Field a bucket-list item. 'I do think as stewards and ambassadors of the city, people take that very seriously,' Behnke said. 'We're not just Wisconsin nice or Minnesota nice or Midwestern nice. People understand we have an obligation and a responsibility to the people who come here to show them a good time, which is what you see on game days. So I think that will just extend.'
The Independent
18-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
NFL's smallest market prepares to host league's top offseason spectacle as draft comes to Green Bay
Corey Behnke was a 7-year-old attending a Green Bay Packers preseason game with his grandfather when he pointed to the homes across the street from Lambeau Field and vowed to live there eventually. Now he has one of the best spots to watch as the NFL's greatest offseason spectacle takes shape. The NFL draft's annual pilgrimage to cities across the league is arriving in Green Bay next week with all the pageantry that comes from operating in the home of the NFL's only publicly owned franchise. 'I think it's going to be iconic in a way that other drafts aren't,' said Behnke, now president of the neighborhood association of the area adjacent to Lambeau Field. As soon as the NFL started taking its draft around the country nearly a decade ago, Packers officials wondered what it would take to bring the event to Green Bay. They realized they'd never get a Super Bowl because of Green Bay's small population and frigid February weather. Hosting a draft would be the next best thing. The possibility that Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy envisioned so long ago now becomes reality just as he prepares for his retirement this summer. As draft-related construction continues in the area around Lambeau, one of several Packers-themed signs in the yards of homes across the street from the stadium includes this message: 'Draft Dreams on Murphy's Turf.' 'For us, we'd been seeing how the draft has grown and what it's become, and knew the kind of impact it would have, not just on the local Green Bay community, but the entire state,' Murphy said. 'Since we're a community-owned team, that's really one of our top priorities, is to give back to the community. It'll be the largest event ever held in Green Bay.' Therein lies the challenge. The Green Bay metro area includes about 320,000 people, according to Discover Green Bay spokesman Nick Meisner. The city itself has a population of under 110,000. Bringing the draft to a town of this size creates obstacles that league officials didn't have to worry about when this event took place in Chicago, Philadelphia or other major metro areas. Green Bay has about 5,000 hotel rooms, a figure that gets up to 10,000 when nearby Appleton is included. That means plenty of fans watching the draft may have to stay a couple of hours away in Milwaukee or Madison, though many of them already are accustomed to doing that for Packers home games. 'When people say, can the city handle it, well, what does that mean?' Behnke asked. 'Do we have enough hotels? No, but we knew that. Does Wisconsin have enough hotels? Yeah, I think so. I think a lot of people (understand) the fact that it's going to be a driving event. People are going to drive here. But I also think that's how games are. … I think people are kind of used to driving an hour-and-a-half or two hours to get to Green Bay.' The smaller population likely means a smaller number of people at this draft. Murphy said a total attendance of about 250,000 is expected, less than one-third of the record crowd of over 775,000 that attended last year's draft in Detroit. Crowd figures are measured by adding the attendance numbers for each of the draft's three days, so one person who attends all three days would be counted three times. 'The beauty of the draft is you can adapt it to any environment you're in,' said Jon Barker, the NFL's senior vice president for global event operations. 'With each draft, there's always going to be challenges that you need to overcome, but there's also great opportunity.' Those opportunities involve focusing on the tradition and history of a place Behnke calls 'the best football town in America." For instance, one of the NFL's greatest training-camp rituals occurs at Green Bay each summer, as players borrow children's bicycles to ride from the locker room to the practice field. Packers officials referenced this tradition in their draft bid by sending a Packers-themed bike to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's office. 'We had our draft pitch in video form in the basket in the Packer bike,' said Gabrielle Dow, the Packers' vice president of marketing and fan engagement. Without giving too much away, Barker said part of Thursday's draft opening will incorporate that bike tradition. A bike parade for children is planned for Saturday. There are other local connections as well. When first-round picks hear their names called, they'll go through a walkway featuring artwork from Milwaukee-based Ike Wynter, who will have made each of his pieces of reclaimed wood from discarded furniture collected across the state. Former Wisconsin Badgers such as Jonathan Taylor, Joe Thomas, Tim Krumrie and James White will be announcing picks on the draft's second and third days. Lambeau Field also will play a central role in this draft, though this sprawling event encompasses millions of square feet surrounding the stadium. Admission is free, and television screens all over the area will enable fans to watch the draft even if they're far from the stage and taking in the NFL Draft Experience, a fan festival featuring games, exhibits, activities and autograph sessions. When probable first-round selections make their red-carpet entrance Thursday before the draft, they'll walk onto the field known for its Frozen Tundra nickname. Fans will be able to go into the stadium to watch the draft on the giant scoreboard. The stage on which the picks are announced is in a parking lot just east of Lambeau Field. 'I think it'll be a three-day commercial not just for Green Bay but for the entire state,' Murphy said. 'So many different things that are unique and special to Wisconsin, you'll see that as a part of it.' It also will showcase how much growth has taken place in the area around Lambeau Field. The Resch Expo, a 125,000-square-foot facility just east of the stadium, opened in 2021 and will serve as the green room for draft prospects. The NFL Draft Experience will be at Titletown, a 45-acre development just west of Lambeau Field that features offices, shops, restaurants and apartments. 'If those developments don't happen, I don't think we get the draft,' Meisner said. The draft should have an economic impact of $20 million for Brown County and $90 million for Wisconsin, according to Beth Jones Schnese, Greater Green Bay Chamber vice president of marketing/member engagement. She said that equates to the amount generated by three straight Packers home-game weekends. It also means some inconveniences for local residents with all the road closures and traffic headaches. Then again, this community is used to expanding for several weekends each football season. This is just a super-sized example. Behnke knows that as well as anyone. His family has owned Packers' season tickets since Lambeau Field opened in 1957. He was born in Green Bay, started living across from Lambeau Field full-time about five years ago and co-founded the Cheesehead TV Packers fan site. He believes the Packers are ingrained in the Green Bay community in a way that's different from other cities that have multiple pro sports franchises. They're accustomed to accommodating fans who consider visiting Lambeau Field a bucket-list item. 'I do think as stewards and ambassadors of the city, I think people take that very seriously,' Behnke said. 'We're not just Wisconsin nice or Minnesota nice or Midwestern nice. I think people understand we have an obligation and a responsibility to the people who come here, to show them a good time, which is what you see on gamedays. So I think that will just extend.' ___
Associated Press
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
NFL's smallest market prepares to host league's top offseason spectacle as draft comes to Green Bay
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Corey Behnke was a 7-year-old attending a Green Bay Packers preseason game with his grandfather when he pointed to the homes across the street from Lambeau Field and vowed to live there eventually. Now he has one of the best spots to watch as the NFL's greatest offseason spectacle takes shape. The NFL draft's annual pilgrimage to cities across the league is arriving in Green Bay next week with all the pageantry that comes from operating in the home of the NFL's only publicly owned franchise. 'I think it's going to be iconic in a way that other drafts aren't,' said Behnke, now president of the neighborhood association of the area adjacent to Lambeau Field. As soon as the NFL started taking its draft around the country nearly a decade ago, Packers officials wondered what it would take to bring the event to Green Bay. They realized they'd never get a Super Bowl because of Green Bay's small population and frigid February weather. Hosting a draft would be the next best thing. The possibility that Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy envisioned so long ago now becomes reality just as he prepares for his retirement this summer. As draft-related construction continues in the area around Lambeau, one of several Packers-themed signs in the yards of homes across the street from the stadium includes this message: 'Draft Dreams on Murphy's Turf.' 'For us, we'd been seeing how the draft has grown and what it's become, and knew the kind of impact it would have, not just on the local Green Bay community, but the entire state,' Murphy said. 'Since we're a community-owned team, that's really one of our top priorities, is to give back to the community. It'll be the largest event ever held in Green Bay.' Therein lies the challenge. The Green Bay metro area includes about 320,000 people, according to Discover Green Bay spokesman Nick Meisner. The city itself has a population of under 110,000. Bringing the draft to a town of this size creates obstacles that league officials didn't have to worry about when this event took place in Chicago, Philadelphia or other major metro areas. Green Bay has about 5,000 hotel rooms, a figure that gets up to 10,000 when nearby Appleton is included. That means plenty of fans watching the draft may have to stay a couple of hours away in Milwaukee or Madison, though many of them already are accustomed to doing that for Packers home games. 'When people say, can the city handle it, well, what does that mean?' Behnke asked. 'Do we have enough hotels? No, but we knew that. Does Wisconsin have enough hotels? Yeah, I think so. I think a lot of people (understand) the fact that it's going to be a driving event. People are going to drive here. But I also think that's how games are. … I think people are kind of used to driving an hour-and-a-half or two hours to get to Green Bay.' The smaller population likely means a smaller number of people at this draft. Murphy said a total attendance of about 250,000 is expected, less than one-third of the record crowd of over 775,000 that attended last year's draft in Detroit. Crowd figures are measured by adding the attendance numbers for each of the draft's three days, so one person who attends all three days would be counted three times. 'The beauty of the draft is you can adapt it to any environment you're in,' said Jon Barker, the NFL's senior vice president for global event operations. 'With each draft, there's always going to be challenges that you need to overcome, but there's also great opportunity.' Those opportunities involve focusing on the tradition and history of a place Behnke calls 'the best football town in America.' For instance, one of the NFL's greatest training-camp rituals occurs at Green Bay each summer, as players borrow children's bicycles to ride from the locker room to the practice field. Packers officials referenced this tradition in their draft bid by sending a Packers-themed bike to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's office. 'We had our draft pitch in video form in the basket in the Packer bike,' said Gabrielle Dow, the Packers' vice president of marketing and fan engagement. Without giving too much away, Barker said part of Thursday's draft opening will incorporate that bike tradition. A bike parade for children is planned for Saturday. There are other local connections as well. When first-round picks hear their names called, they'll go through a walkway featuring artwork from Milwaukee-based Ike Wynter, who will have made each of his pieces of reclaimed wood from discarded furniture collected across the state. Former Wisconsin Badgers such as Jonathan Taylor, Joe Thomas, Tim Krumrie and James White will be announcing picks on the draft's second and third days. Lambeau Field also will play a central role in this draft, though this sprawling event encompasses millions of square feet surrounding the stadium. Admission is free, and television screens all over the area will enable fans to watch the draft even if they're far from the stage and taking in the NFL Draft Experience, a fan festival featuring games, exhibits, activities and autograph sessions. When probable first-round selections make their red-carpet entrance Thursday before the draft, they'll walk onto the field known for its Frozen Tundra nickname. Fans will be able to go into the stadium to watch the draft on the giant scoreboard. The stage on which the picks are announced is in a parking lot just east of Lambeau Field. 'I think it'll be a three-day commercial not just for Green Bay but for the entire state,' Murphy said. 'So many different things that are unique and special to Wisconsin, you'll see that as a part of it.' It also will showcase how much growth has taken place in the area around Lambeau Field. The Resch Expo, a 125,000-square-foot facility just east of the stadium, opened in 2021 and will serve as the green room for draft prospects. The NFL Draft Experience will be at Titletown, a 45-acre development just west of Lambeau Field that features offices, shops, restaurants and apartments. 'If those developments don't happen, I don't think we get the draft,' Meisner said. The draft should have an economic impact of $20 million for Brown County and $90 million for Wisconsin, according to Beth Jones Schnese, Greater Green Bay Chamber vice president of marketing/member engagement. She said that equates to the amount generated by three straight Packers home-game weekends. It also means some inconveniences for local residents with all the road closures and traffic headaches. Then again, this community is used to expanding for several weekends each football season. This is just a super-sized example. Behnke knows that as well as anyone. His family has owned Packers' season tickets since Lambeau Field opened in 1957. He was born in Green Bay, started living across from Lambeau Field full-time about five years ago and co-founded the Cheesehead TV Packers fan site. He believes the Packers are ingrained in the Green Bay community in a way that's different from other cities that have multiple pro sports franchises. They're accustomed to accommodating fans who consider visiting Lambeau Field a bucket-list item. 'I do think as stewards and ambassadors of the city, I think people take that very seriously,' Behnke said. 'We're not just Wisconsin nice or Minnesota nice or Midwestern nice. I think people understand we have an obligation and a responsibility to the people who come here, to show them a good time, which is what you see on gamedays. So I think that will just extend.' ___ AP NFL:
CBS News
24-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Minneapolis man's life saved with new technology at HCMC that helps detect, prevent strokes
In December, Troy Behnke experienced a medical emergency. "I woke up and I had a bad headache, pretty much the worst headache I've ever, ever had," Behnke said. "And eventually I just fell for no good reason." Soon after, another frightening symptom occurred. "I was drinking a glass of water, and suddenly I was not holding the glass of water. I didn't even realize I had dropped it; I just could not hold on to it anymore," Behnke said. Behnke and his wife knew he needed to go to the ER, where doctors used a new technology — a transcranial doppler (TCD) — to perform an ultrasound on Behnke's brain. "In Troy's case, we were seeing that the blood flow in his brain was severely impaired," Dr. Edward Labin, a neurologist at HCMC, said. "We noticed that his carotid artery had torn, which we call a dissection." Behnke was not having a stroke, but the lack of blood flow to his brain would likely have caused one at any moment. "He could have lost half of his brain or even died," Labin said. The transcranial doppler tool uses ultrasound to look at blood flow in the brain's major arteries—- and unlike other procedures, it's minimally invasive and doesn't expose patients to radiation. "It gives us a dynamic picture of the brain. A CAT scan or MRI is really just a snapshot, whereas with this technology we are able to see how the blood is actually flowing, not just taking a picture, but really looking at it almost like a movie," Labin said. Labin's team at HCMC claims the TCD has been able to dramatically change patient care for the better. "Knowing what the outcome could be without this technology and then seeing what it's been able to do has been extremely gratifying," Labin said. "It's really useful, it's innovative, it's kind of cool, and it helped me," Behnke said. "I was very, very lucky that they caught it that early." TCD imaging is currently only available in Minnesota at HCMC and Mayo Clinic. For more information about the transcranial doppler, click here .
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Are you cleaning your water bottle enough?
Every time you take a sip from your water bottle, you are depositing bacteria inside and over the course of a day these can multiply by the millions. Here's what scientists say you can do about it. Carl Behnke had always wondered how clean his reuseable water bottle was. When he stuffed some paper towels inside and smeared them around, he was in for a shock. "The towels were white – until I pulled them out," says Behnke, an expert in food safety at Purdue University in Indiana, US. "I realised that the slippery sensation I felt in the interior of the bottle was not because of the material but rather because of a bacterial build-up." His next step was to design a study. Behnke and colleagues stopped passers-by in a corridor at Purdue and asked if they would be happy to loan their water bottles to them as part of their research – to see how clean they were. "One thing that stood out from the project was the number of people who didn't want to know the results," recalls Behnke. "Basically, they knew that their cleaning habits were poor to non-existent – something the data later confirmed." The results confirmed that those bottles were brimming with bacteria. The global reusable water bottle market was worth around $10bn (£7.7bn) in 2024. One study on Italian healthcare workers suggested that half of them used reusable bottles, while research involving university students suggests somewhere between 50% and 81% of participants used these drinking vessels. But while they help people to stay hydrated, drinking from water bottles regularly, and taking them with us everywhere we go, may also pose health risks. So, should we ditch them, or can those risks be managed? What exactly is inside reusable water bottles? While it's usually safe to drink, water from our kitchen taps is not devoid of microbial life. This is why leaving water in your bottle for a few days will encourage bacteria to grow, says Primrose Freestone, associate professor in clinical microbiology at the University of Leicester, in the UK. Bacteria that can cause human infections thrives at around 37C (98F) Freestone says, but it can also multiply at room temperature, around 20C (68F). "The longer water in a bottle is stored at room temperature, the more bacteria will grow," she says. One study conducted in Singapore using boiled tap water – which should have killed most bacteria in it – found that bacteria populations can grow rapidly inside water bottles as they are used throughout an average day. On average they found that reusable bottles used by adults went from around 75,000 bacteria per millilitre in mid-morning to more 1-2 million per millilitre over the course of 24 hours. One way to slow bacterial growth down is to store your bottle in the fridge between sips, Freestone says, though this doesn't stop it from growing altogether. But while some of a water bottle's bacterial activity comes from the water itself, most contamination is actually introduced by the drinker. Whether you take your bottle to work, the gym, or even just keep it in the house, the outside of your bottle will carry many microbes. And these microbes are easily transferred into the contents of the bottle, along with bacteria from your mouth every time you take a sip, Freestone says. Water bottle users who don't wash their hands regularly will also find that their bottles can harbour bacteria such as E. coli, Freestone says. "Poo-associated bacteria, such as E. coli, can come from our hands and end up on our lips if we're not good at toilet hygiene," she says. And we can pass on, or catch, viruses by sharing water bottles with others. Diseases such as norovirus could easily be passed on in this way. People generally have between 500 and 600 different species of bacteria living in their mouths says Freestone. "What isn't necessarily disease-causing for you isn't always the case for others. You can carry an infection and not realise it, because our immune systems are so good at protecting us," she adds. Another way you can encourage bacterial growth in your bottle is by putting anything other than fresh water in them. Drinks that nourish you also feed microbes – so any drinks containing sugar, for example, can stimulate the growth of any bacteria or mould present in your bottle, Freestone says. "Anything other than water is heaven for bacteria and fungi, especially protein shakes," she says. If you've ever left milk in a glass for a few hours, you may have noticed that it leaves behind a thin film on the glass when you pour it away. Bacteria happen to adore this film, Freestone says. How can this bacteria affect us? We are all surrounded by bacteria in the soil, air and on our bodies, but it's worth remembering that most bacteria are harmless or even beneficial. Water that's been contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli can cause diarrhoea and vomiting but not all the time. E. Coli are a large group of bacteria found naturally in the environment but also are common natural inhabitants of the human gut. It is only when the bacteria turn pathogenic – in other words they pick up certain traits that make them harmful – that they make people ill. Most microbes aren't harmful to humans, but people whose immune systems are impaired can be more prone to infections, Freestone says. Also, getting sick with a stomach bug can, in some cases, lead to long-term changes in the gut. "Our guts are changing all the time, but there are over 1,000 species present in the gut so it's hard to shift in terms of composition," says Freestone. "There are too many variables to say, but getting food poisoning from the bacteria in a water bottle will never lead to a positive change." People who've recently taken antibiotics that can affect their gut microbiome can also experience changes that leave them more vulnerable to other infections. One swab of a reusable water bottle taken at a newspaper office in the UK also revealed that these bottles can be a breeding ground for emerging strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Researchers discovered a bacterium called Klebsiella grimontii– which is capable of forming biofilms on otherwise sterile surface –in the sample taken from the water bottle. While it can be found as part of the normal microflora of the gastrointestinal tract, it can also cause severe diarrhoea in people who have recently taken antibiotics. More like this:• Your kitchen sponge teems with bacteria – is it better to use a brush?• Are you pooing often enough?• What your fingernails can reveal about your health If mould or fungi grows in your bottle, this can trigger symptoms in anyone with allergies. It's worth noting, however, there are no examples of severe illness that have been traced back to reusable water bottles in the scientific literature. This doesn't mean they don't happen, of course, as identifying single point sources of infection is notoriously difficult. How should we clean reusable bottles? For Behnke, it was the creeping sense that he should perhaps be cleaning his own water bottle more thoroughly that made him look closer at what could be inside it. He'd been using a filtered water bottle and had started to notice that the water he was drinking from it tasted bad. "Every now and then I would flush it with hot water, but never really did anything more than that," he says. After his paper towel-based investigations revealed how manky his water bottle was, the study he and colleagues carried out went on to look at people's water bottle habits in greater detail. Behnke found that just over half of the 90 participants surveyed during the research said they share their bottle with others, and 15% said they never cleaned their bottles. Unsurprisingly, whether or not people rinsed or washed their water bottles affected the contamination level. However, Behnke found that how often they cleaned the bottles, or how they cleaned them, didn't enormously affect how contaminated the containers were. People who washed their bottle with tools such as a brush or used a dishwasher tended to have the lowest counts of bacteria inside. Behnke and his colleagues also suggest using a dishwasher with a sanitisation cycle could be the most effective approach. However, the study's conclusion states that these findings may have been skewed by the fact the researchers were relying on participants self-reporting their cleaning behaviours, and they may have changed their answers to appear more socially acceptable. The study also found that bottles containing tea, coffee or juice were more contaminated than bottles that only contained water. Cleaning our water bottles regularly and properly is the only way to be confident you are not consuming harmful bacteria alongside your water. Even if the water inside it is sterile, Freestone says, your saliva will end up in the bottle, along with trace levels of nutrients, which bacteria happily feed on. Rinsing your bottle out with cold water isn't sufficient, Freestone says, because this won't get rid of biofilms – the slimy layer of bacteria that can build up on the inner surface of your bottle, which provides the perfect environment in which bacteria can thrive. Freestone recommends cleaning reusable bottles with hot water (over 60C (140F) as this temperature kills most pathogens), and using washing-up liquid – swirling it around, and leaving the bottle for 10 minutes before rinsing well with hot water. Then, allowing the bottle to air-dry is the best way to avoid a build-up of bacteria in your bottle, because microorganisms prefer moist environments. You should clean your bottle this way after each use – or at the very least, several times a week, Freestone says. And never wait until it starts to smell, she warns. "If your bottle starts to smell, you've reached a point where you should chuck it away," she says. Once you have a nice, clean bottle, Freestone adds, remember to wash your hands before touching it. Behnke, for one, is now a reformed water bottle-user. He washes and air dries his bottle every week using a bleach spray and bottle brush, which he uses to clean the spout or nozzles and other small surfaces. Is there any type of water bottle we should avoid? Although some studies have found that the bacterial load of plastic bottles can be higher than those of stainless steel bottles, the cleaning strategy used tends to make a far bigger difference. The most hygienic bottles are simply those that are the easiest to clean, Freestone says. It's important, she adds, to ensure you clean every part of the water bottle, including the outside, the lid and straw, if it has one. However, there may be another reason to opt for metal over plastic. "Plastics usually have chemical additives that lend them their advantages: their flexibility, durability, heat-resistance and how lightweight they are," says Amit Abraham, assistant professor of clinical population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar. "These additives are physically bound to plastics, which means they can leach into the water," Abraham says, Some research suggests that these additives, such as BPA, can interfere with our hormone function, and may be linked to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other chronic diseases. They also appear to leach into water, Abraham says, regardless of whether the bottle is made of disposable or reusable plastic. Also, the plastic material itself can break down, increasing the concentration of microplastics in bottled water. Bottles made of glass or stainless steel may be safer alternatives. Whatever water bottle you opt for, it seems that good hygiene habits are fundamental to ensuring that the water you end up drinking isn't overflowing with harmful bacteria. -- For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
