Ruff News For Beardy Blokes With News Beards Are "Dirtier Than Dogs"

In a story that's brimming with take-the-piss-ability™, scientists have discovered that not only are men with beards grubby, they're grubbier than dogs.

Researchers at the Hirslanden Clinic in Switzerland swabbed the beards of 18 men and the necks 30 pooches and looked for how different - or similar - the levels of bacteria were.

And the results pretty much speak for themselves: Every single beard had a high microbial count, whereas only 23 dogs had the same.

Not just that, but seven participant's facial hair was found to harbour bacteria harmful to humans.

"The researchers found a significantly higher bacterial load in specimens taken from the men's beards compared with the dogs' fur," said Professor Andreas Gutzeit, study author.

"On the basis of these findings, dogs can be considered as clean compared with bearded men."

So what to do with these findings? We reckon the approach is two-fold:

1. Go make sure your bearded mates know how filthy they are; and

2. Hug your dog. He deserves it.

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