idun Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Currently on the internet it says that some people in the UK don't wash for three months every year. Well that basically means that they probably bathe about twice a week, I imagine a bath or shower. No mention of what was called a strip wash when I was a child.In fact this has made me think of my childhood. We had a bath once a week, in spite of the coal fire heating the water every single day and having a proper bathroom, and then on a Sunday evening, we all, one after the other, bathed in the same water. Why this was, I have no idea, but that was how it was. Most other days, especially when we were small, I remember my mother standing us in a big old fashioned sink holding a few inches of warm water and rubbing us down with a rough flannel and then dried in an equally rough towel. We were supposed to do this strip wash ourselves as we got older and still only a bath a week.I cannot remember most people 'smelling' before or after deodrants came in.Someone I know showers twice a day, and that actually sounds unhealthy to me, I wouldn't do that unless say I had a particularly smelly job, like working with fish etc. I am wondering how much (or little) washing is good for our health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 When I was a kid we played in muddy streams, cycled everywhere and did "normal" kid stuff. I lived in a leaky old house where the lino used to billow up in big mounds due to wind blowing up through the floorboards (great for playing with toy cars by the way!).Now...One guy I knew has married a clean-freak and their levels of cleanliness would put a NASA laboratory to shame. They have recently spent £1750 (more than I spent on my last three cars) on a vacuum cleaner that is some super-fancy thing that probably filters down to the molecular level. Their house gets stripped and cleaned top to bottom every single day. They all have separate indoor and outdoor clothing, everything is wipe-clean surfaces, there are motion sensitive widgets in every room that jizz a dollop of hand cleanser into your palm as you approach it (no need to even touch the machine!) which their kids are encouraged to do every couple of hours. I can confidently say their hall floor is probably cleaner than my kitchen counter.Anyway, the two kids are the weakest, palest, sickliest kids I have ever seen outside of a hospital ward - they catch every cold and bug that passes, both are allergic to pretty much anything with fur and one has serious asthma. I cant help but assume they have incredibly weak immune systems due to rarely encountering anything dirty.In fact, among everyone my age group who has produced children, sickly kids who never play outdoors are more the norm than the exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I don't shave every day..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 And it seems to have improved your appearance judging by your icon [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 [quote user="idun"]I cannot remember most people 'smelling' before or after deodrants came in.[/quote]When everybody smells the same nobody smells at all [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Many years ago, when I lived in Africa ( Kitwe, Zambia ) there were two supermarkets in the town. ZCBC and OK Bazaar. The Europeans tended to shop in ZCBC and the locals in OK Bazaar. To us Europeans there was a distinct smell of humanity associated with OK Bazaar, however, the locals felt that there was a distinct 'not nice' smell in ZCBC.Individually I don't remember any particular person ''smelling'' but there was obviously a ''group smell'' that was identifiable to certain groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSKS Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Mind you, when you're sitting on the bus on a warm day next to the person who has an aversion to personal hygiene, it becomes a little more obvious that the general level of PH is refreshingly high.Incidentally, those that hanker back to the days of rather less fastidious personal hygiene should also be aware at the hugely higher rates of contagious diseases that used to exist. Anyone nostaligic for impetigo, scabies, fungal nail and foot infections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 AnOther said: "When everybody smells the same nobody smells at all" I think Another's nailed it. Mind you the specific effect of Izal loo paper may have masked more general body odeur....I believe I have seen plenty of deodorants available in France, but fewer antiperspirants.Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 [quote user="SC"]I believe I have seen plenty of deodorants available in France, but fewer antiperspirants.Steve[/quote]There is a question on it's own, is it good to block perspiration a natural cooling process?When I worked with Asian's they had a smell of garlic and fenugreek with a dash of garam masala. by contrast they said we smelt of eggs and dairy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 [quote user="SC"] I believe I have seen plenty of deodorants available in France, but fewer antiperspirants.Steve[/quote]Some of our neighbours use garlic to mask bad breath and BO [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 [quote user="SC"]AnOther said: "When everybody smells the same nobody smells at all" I think Another's nailed it. Mind you the specific effect of Izal loo paper may have masked more general body odeur....I believe I have seen plenty of deodorants available in France, but fewer antiperspirants.Steve[/quote]I do remember back in the mid 70's going from my home in France to visit a friend in Mulhouse and popping over to Basle, where the only thing I bought was deodorant, because the choice in France at the time was woefully limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Is this a world record?http://uk.weather.com/story/news/weather-ravaged-man-who-hasnt-bathed-60-years-20150112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Is this a world record?http://uk.weather.com/story/news/weather-ravaged-man-who-hasnt-bathed-60-years-20150112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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