Sure, by now you've seen The Wall Street Journal's interactive map of germs on the New York subway, but what does the study it was based on mean for regular perverts like you and me? According to one researcher, it means you're probably cool to keep licking subway poles.

Dr. Chris Mason of Weill Cornell Medical College assured an audience on Thursday that his team had found "nothing traumatic" during their bacteria-mapping research, telling Gothamist, "the subway is not something to be scared of."

"You wouldn't want to lick all the poles," said Mason, "even though you'd probably be fine."

Really, Dr. Mason had just two pieces of advice for staph-fearing straphangers: "Wash your hands and don't walk around with a gaping wound."

[Image via Shutterstock//h/t NY Mag]