system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Can you kill bacteria just by pressing fingers against each other? How does daily life's mechanical forces interact with microorganisms?
gpt
In theory yes, bacteria can be crushed just like anything. When using microscope slides it's possible to crush them if you don't do it properly. But those are incredibly smooth surfaces. Your fingers are not. There are visible grooves and grooves and imperfections so small you can't see them. Your fingers also have a fair bit of give to them as do the cells that make them up. So most, if not all, of the bacteria present will not experience much force. Not to say it couldn't happen in the right circumstances though. 

To have a good chance of crushing them you need a material that is rigid and so flat that they won't just be pushed into grooves or holes.