Why Pen "hygiene"?

[brunico]

Just curious to know where pen "hygiene" - instead of "cleaning" - comes from. In British English, hygiene generally has to do with preventing the spread of germs rather than simply cleaning something. So you could talk about kitchen hygiene, for instance, in the sense of not leaving food lying around to rot, but if you cleaned the sink, you'd just be cleaning the sink, not practising sink hygiene. And, over here, certainly not practicing it. But if it's American English, I can't seem to find something that suggests it is.

 

So, is there a rational for preferring "hygiene" to "cleaning," or is is just an expression that happened to catch on? Any, erm, linguistic epidemiologists here?

[Consulting_Detective]

I'm presuming its because the act of hygiene is considered act of cleanliness, so I have a feeling connecting the idea of keeping your pens clean is considered "pen hygiene", that is just my two cents in this interesting point..

 

-RTMC

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

It just one of those words that we americans use.

 

It just means keeping your pen clean, just like personal hygiene mean keeping your person clean.

[Paddler]

It is just a term that politically correct OCD people project onto the handling and use of pens.

[Parse Error]

SITB is a germ that you DONT want to be spread around.

[Scrawler]

SITB is a germ that you DONT want to be spread around.

This is why.

[mirosc]

my policy:

the less pen hygiene the less people grabbing my pen

[CoolFool]

Every authoritative source I can find says "hygiene" refers to practices aimed at promoting health or preventing disease, particularly the spread of germs. So if we're talking about keeping a pen free of dirt and old crusted ink, etc., the term should be "cleaning." That being said, I can't remember coming across any mentions of "pen hygiene." Perhaps I haven't paying attention?

[Chris Rozon]

I've never heard the term, but if I did I would assume it was tongue-in-cheek.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Because an infected pen is a sad thing indeed. Brewers also speak of the hygiene of their equipment, for similar reasons. "Cleaning" certainly includes a sense of getting rid of spores, but it's less loaded than "hygiene"; one cleans a car or a floor, but that's mere removal of lumps of dirt, rather than a conscious effort against pathogens.

 

I suspect we don't use "sterilization procedures" only because of a faint hope that the pens may start breeding.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Ernst Bitterman

[brunico]

Thank you all for your perspectives - I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds the usage a little odd, but I can see where users are coming from. I do think it's a little obsessive, but I'm sure some people think that about me, too.

 

And Ernst, if you want your pens to breed like rabbits, maybe this is the pen to get things going.

[SockAddict]

Thank you all for your perspectives - I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds the usage a little odd, but I can see where users are coming from. I do think it's a little obsessive, but I'm sure some people think that about me, too.

 

And Ernst, if you want your pens to breed like rabbits, maybe this is the pen to get things going.

 

If I got that pen, my wallet would *not* let my pens breed at all for a while… But I'd be happy!

[PS104]

my policy:

the less pen hygiene the less people grabbing my pen

Once people know you " sniff your pen" those people will soon disappear from your life no matter how scrupulously clean the internals of the pen

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/283893-pen-sniffing/

 

The above link has all the appeal of someone sniffing girls' bicycle seats

I sense a symbiotic connection between these two threads

[Nanor]

The common practice of cleaning pens with a solution of ammonia is hygienic, even if hygiene is not intended?