Some words scare me

When I was growing up there were certain words that brought terror to the minds of all who heard them.
"eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww....he backwashed!" was enough to ruin many a soda. After all, what worse thing could happen than someonw backwashing?
Since I don't even know if kids USE that term anymore, it might require some explanation. So let's set the scene. You have a soda. Your friend/sibling/some random stranger walking by does not have a soda. Naturally, being humans, he/she/they/it decide the entire focus of their life from inception until that very moment has been for the express purpose of them having a drink of your soda. You, being nice, choose to allow this.
Then, the panic-stricken thought penetrates your pea-brain...you might get....frum roll please...their GERMS! So you watch carefully as the bottle approaches their lips, they begin to slake their thirst and then...horror of horrors...the worst tragedy of your young life would occur...BACKWASH!
You see, the physics were such that not every drop of liquid that went into their mouth stayed there..hence, you were undoubtedly going to be subjected to their spit or saliva...mouth boogers or something. Because we SAW the liquid receding into the bottle from their mouth.
Now, you may think I am being facetious, but this was a huge problem for us. Coke was a precious commodity and having someone ruin it by backwashing...this was indeed a huge tragedy and something to be avoided at all costs.
Let's compare that with the words that scare me today. "Israel invades Lebanon in attempt to recover 2 kidnapped soldiers." "North Korea tests missiles."
Seems like there is some difference there, doesn't it?