Phones are dirty.
That's not a statement concerning your Snapchat habits (but honestly, you're a grown man, stop it) - but a description of the level of filth living on your handset. Every study, test and research group to have poked around a smartphone with a swab has found that your digital companion carries more dirt than the average toilet.
Which goes some way to explaining why the mysophobic (Google it) tech heads of Japan have created the world's first soap-proof, washable phone.
And yes, there's obviously a weird advert to show it off.
While waterproof handsets have populated pockets for a number of years, the corrosive nature of cleaning products, scouring pads and vigours of a thorough clean have meant users have had to put up with a lump of muck.
In addition to being soap-proof, Kyocera's Digno Rafre handset has a scratch-healing case, a five inch touch-screen that works when wet and a bone-conducting audio point, to allow you to have conversations without the need of a speaker (less holes to let the water in).
Set to launch in Japan this month for around £310, don't expect the handset to make its way to European markets any time soon. Should the idea prove a popular one, it could become a standard feature of all future smartphones.
Finally, a world in which we can use our smartphones whilst raiding a packet of crisps.
