Kill it with the chorus

In its efforts to educate the public on how long to wash hands to protect oneself from the coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, advises singing the “Happy Birthday” song twice to reach the requisite 20 seconds’ worth of scrubbing time. Of course, having that sing-songy melody stuck in your head might in itself make you queasy after a couple of days. As an alternative, the Los Angeles Times recently posted a handful of pop songs with memorable choruses that also hit the mark—including “Heaven on Earth,” by Belinda Carlisle, “Raspberry Beret,” by Prince, and “Truth Hurts,” by Lizzo. It works with so many hummable tunes—just clock your favorite. (“Paradise City,” by Guns ’N’ Roses, is a sink-side banger!) The most fun tune on the Times’ list was probably “Karma Chameleon,” by Culture Club. Let the earworm infect you: “Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon / You come and go, you come and go / Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams / Red, gold and green; red, gold and green.”

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