New York City has the dirtiest public transportation system of all major US cities - here's what the germs look like up close

Craig Ward

A sample from every subway line in New York City

If you're a germophobe, you might want to stay away from the New York City subway.

A recent study by Travelmath found that the New York City subway has the most germs of five major US public transit lines, beating out Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. Researchers found that underground trains in New York had an average of two million colony-forming units per square inch, according to Conde Nast Traveler. That's roughly 900 times the number of germs found on a typical airplane tray table.

But if you're a typographer, designer, and photographer with a twisted fascination for germs like Craig Ward, you might want to swab a sample, take it home, put it under a microscope, and snap a picture.

Ward began taking samples of germs from across all 22 New York City subway lines in the summer of 2015. For each sample, he cultivated the germs into the shape of the train line's name, creating a depiction of the subway system that is both grotesque and captivating.

While his findings may not be 100% accurate given his less-than-precise process, he told us that his results "are true with a degree of certainty."