But, you know something? In my neighborhood, no one ever got polio! No one! Ever! You know why? Because we swam in raw sewage! It strengthened our immune systems! The polio never had a prayer we were tempered in raw shit! Let me tell you a true story about immunization okay? When I was a little boy in New York City in the 1940s, we swam in the Hudson River and it was filled with raw sewage, okay? We swam in raw sewage! You know, to cool off! And at that time, the big fear was polio thousands of kids died from polio every year.

Not surprisingly, George Carlin had something to say about that too. The Hygiene Hypothesis specifically looks at childhood exposure to microorganisms, beginning in utero and to about school age. The increasing rates of conditions such as allergies, autoimmune disorders, and metabolic syndromes could be a consequence of our decreased exposure to germs and illnesses. (Interestingly, this was right about when George Carlin was first starting to earn his fame as a comedian.) Medical researchers have long speculated that some of the modern diseases that people suffer from comes from an excess of hygiene. It is called The Hygiene Hypothesis, and it dates back to 1968. In medicine, there is a phrase for this way of thinking. Even if IвЂ™m at a sidewalk cafГ©! In Calcutta! The poor section! On New YearвЂ™s morning during a soccer riot!вЂќ I donвЂ™t shy away from people that sneeze and cough, I donвЂ™t wipe off the telephone, I donвЂ™t cover the toilet seat, and if I drop food on the floor, I pick it up and eat it! Yes, I do. Meg Lemon, a dermatologist who helps people with autoimmune disorders and allergies, вЂњI tell people, when they drop food on the floor, please pick it up and eat it.вЂќ And here is a quote from George Carlin on the same topic, вЂњSo personally, I never take any special precautions against germs. Last year the New York Times published an article called вЂњYour Environment is Cleaner, Your Immune System Has Never Been So Unprepared.вЂќ For example, here is a quote from that New York Times article from Dr. Carlin was a comedian, but he wasnвЂ™t alone in his thinking. Because of this fear, they sanitized everything, repeatedly washed their hands, and overcooked their food to avoid conflict with germs. Sound familiar? In вЂњYou are all Diseased,вЂќ Carlin commented on how Americans were afraid of germs. And never mind ordinary germs, what are you going to do when some super-virus comes along? So listen, if you kill all the germs around you, and live a completely sterile life, then when germs do come along, youвЂ™re not going to be prepared. It turns out that he might not be the only person who thinks so.Д«esides, what do you think you have an immune system for? ItвЂ™s for killing germs! But it needs practice it needs germs to practice on.

His theory was that we need to expose ourselves to bacteria to build up our immunity systemвЂ™s strength.

He worried that by being super clean, we were making our immune systems weak. George Carlin felt that people were too afraid of getting dirty and coming into contact with germs. Though вЂњYou are all DiseasedвЂќ was recorded over 20 years ago, this section sounds like it was written for people today. It was recorded and released later that year on CD as вЂњYou Are All Diseased.вЂќ There is a section about six minutes in where he goes into the type of rant that made him famous. On February 6th, 1999, George Carlin did a standup special in New York City.

George carlin youtube kids