--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course I'd long known that I was…" description: "\"“Of course I'd long known that I was playing host to a massive collection of parasitic organisms, but I didn't much like being reminded of it. By cell ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/john-green-12_quote_of-course-i-d-long-known-that-i-was-play_2186656.jpg" --- # Of course I'd long known that I was playing host to a… ![“Of course I'd long known that I was playing host to a massive collection of parasitic organisms, but I didn't much like being reminded of it. By cell count, humans are approximately 50 percent microbial, meaning that half the cells that make you up are not yours at all. There are something like…” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/john-green-12_quote_of-course-i-d-long-known-that-i-was-play_2186656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/john-green-12_quote_of-course-i-d-long-known-that-i-was-play_2186656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/john-green-12_quote_of-course-i-d-long-known-that-i-was-play_2186656.jpg) > ““Of course I'd long known that I was playing host to a massive collection of parasitic organisms, but I didn't much like being reminded of it. By cell count, humans are approximately 50 percent microbial, meaning that half the cells that make you up are not yours at all. There are something like thousand times more microbes living in my particular biome than there are human beings on earth, and it often feels like I can feel them living and breeding and dying in and on me. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and tried to control my breathing. Admittedly, I have some anxiety problems, but I would argue it isn't irrational to be concerned about the fact that you are a skin-encased bacterial colony.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human bodies host vast microbes, reminding us we are ecosystems; this awareness can inspire humility and health awareness. **In simple terms:** We’re half microbe, half human. Key Takeaway Respect your inner ecosystem. Themes biology humility health interconnectedness Mood thoughtful educational Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - diet choices - medical decisions - environmental impact Key Concepts microbiome self perception well‑being Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect your self‑care? - What actions support a healthy microbiome? A Different Perspective Microbial load varies; not all microbes are harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Microbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microbes/) [Microbes Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microbes-living-2404132/) [Microbial Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microbial-meaning-4747727/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Percent Microbial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent-microbial-4747726/) [Sand Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sand-time/) ## Related quotes > [“Even the majority of the cells in your body are microorganisms. They outnumber the cells of your body by 10 to 1. Those microbes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/even-the-majority-of-the-cells-in-your-body-are-microorganisms-they/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [These microscopic organisms form an entire world composed of species, families and varieties whose history, which has barely begun to be written, is already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/these-microscopic-organisms-form-an-entire-world-composed-of-species/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [If the age of the Earth were a calendar year and today were a breath before midnight on New Year's Eve, we showed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/if-the-age-of-the-earth-were-a-calendar-year-and-today-were-a-breath/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Microbes are doing things we didn't even know they could do 10 years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jackson/microbes-are-doing-things-we-didn-t-even-know-they-could-do-10-years/) [Robert Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jackson/) > [The vast majority of terrestrial species are in fact microbes, and scientists have only begun scratching the surface of the microbial realm. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/the-vast-majority-of-terrestrial-species-are-in-fact-microbes-and/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [Most life on Earth is microbes. we've only just scratched the surface of the microbial realm. Probably less than .1% of microbes have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/most-life-on-earth-is-microbes-we-ve-only-just-scratched-the-surface/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [If you don't like bacteria, you're on the wrong planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/if-you-don-t-like-bacteria-you-re-on-the-wrong-planet/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [It is sometimes as dangerous to be run into by a microbe as by a trolley car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-walsh/it-is-sometimes-as-dangerous-to-be-run-into-by-a-microbe-as-by-a/) [James Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-walsh/) > [“The world around us is a gigantic reservoir of potential microbial partners. Every mouthful could bring in new microbes that digest a previously unbreakable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/the-world-around-us-is-a-gigantic-reservoir-of-potential-microbial/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“If you on't like bacteria, you're on the wrong planet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/if-you-on-t-like-bacteria-you-re-on-the-wrong-planet/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [I play with microbes. There are, of course, many rules to this play...but when you have acquired knowledge and experience it is very pleasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/i-play-with-microbes-there-are-of-course-many-rules-to-this-play-but/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [“If certain bacteria, fungi, or algae inch across something made of copper, they absorb copper atoms, which disrupt their metabolism (human cells are unaffected).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/if-certain-bacteria-fungi-or-algae-inch-across-something-made-of/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Most animals can't tap into these open-source adaptations deliberately. The flies didn't seek out Spiroplasma to solve their worm problem. Woodrats didn't go looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/most-animals-can-t-tap-into-these-open-source-adaptations/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Bacteria quotes > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) [Marcia Bjornerud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-bjornerud/) > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) [Richard E. Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-leakey/) > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Human health should now be thought of as a collective property of the human-associate d microbiota, as one group of researchers recently concluded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/human-health-should-now-be-thought-of-as-a-collective-property-of-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Browse all 285 Bacteria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Of course I'd long known that I was playing host to a massive collection of parasitic organisms, but I didn't much like being reminded of it. By cell count, humans are approximately 50 percent microbial, meaning that half the cells that make you up are not yours at all. There are something like thousand times more microbes living in my particular biome than there are human beings on earth, and it often feels like I can feel them living and breeding and dying in and on me. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and tried to control my breathing. 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