From WebMD:

In the study, published in the Journal of Environmental Health, researchers evaluated the effects of zapping sponges and plastic scrubbing pads in the microwave on bacteria and viruses.

The sponges and scrubbing pads were soaked in wastewater containing a dangerous mix of fecal bacteria, E. coli, and bacterial spores. Bacterial spores are more difficult to kill.

The results showed that two minutes in the microwave at full power killed or inactivated more than 99% of all the living germs and the bacterial spores in the sponges and pads, including E. coli.

After an additional two minutes -- a total of four -- none of the bacterial spores survived.

Before you zap your sponges in the microwave, researchers offer the following advice:

Microwave only sponges or plastic scrubbers that do not contain steel or other metals.
Make sure the sponge or scrubber is wet, not dry.
Two minutes should be enough to kill most disease-causing germs.
Be careful in removing the sponge from the microwave because it will be hot and should not be handled immediately after zapping.

Bitton recommends that people microwave their sponges according to how often they cook, with every other day being a good rule of thumb.

"They were unearthed by a local man who was digging a foundation for a home!"

This is an exclamation? I must be missing something.

Have to disagree about Carrie Underwood. She hit, and I mean hit, a few notes that were off just enough to make your fillings hurt. But this is singing, not shouting. Genius.

Believe it or not, some of us conducted this research and arrived at the same conclusion long ago (>50 years ago, in my case). We used an esoteric method called looking down.

It's a Nikon F; not an F1.

It's good for us Democrats to remember that the Republicans haven't corralled all the dumbasses. We still have a few of our own.