Americans seem to be forgetting to wash their hands after using the restroom these days. According to U.S. researchers, only 77 percent of more than 6,000 men and women washed their hands after using a public restroom. That leaves almost one fourth of the sampled population leaving the restroom with dirty hands.

When splitting the study by gender, only 66 percent of the men and 88 percent of the women washed their hands. "Very clearly, guys need to step up to the sink," said Brian Sansoni, spokesperson for the soap industry group. "One third of guys weren't washing their hands in public restrooms. That's gross."

Because handwashing, especially after using a public restroom, is a key step in preventing disease spreading, this is obviously an alarming study. The next time you shake a colleague's hand, you may wonder whether or not he/she is in the clean group, or the(gulp) dirty group.