"A 2017 study conducted at the university and published in the Journal of Food Research found that blowing out birthday candles increased bacterial levels on cake by roughly 1,400%. The researchers concluded that candle-blowing transfers oral bacteria and other microorganisms from the respiratory tract to icing, making it likely that people who eat the cake will ingest droplets of the blower’s saliva; such droplets can carry pathogens like influenza and the common cold. The findings suggest that alternative, more sanitary methods of extinguishing candles can reduce microbial contamination of shared desserts." - Vince Dixon