Is it safe and hygenic to touch a common garden snail?

I'm planning a game where the participants have to stick their hands into a box and by touching the object inside guess correctly what it is. Just making sure if it is safe to make physical contact


with the "wet parts" of the snail.





thanks!|||Yeah, but just incase wash your hands afterwards...|||Sure you can, as long as you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. They're just a kind of mollusc - related to those that live in the sea - but because they come in to contact with soil that has a lot of crap in it (dog doo, nitrogen, phosphate, etc) you can make yourself sick if you kiss one. You can also eat them, as long as you soak them, but I can't remember what you're supposed to soak them in so that you don't get sick.|||no