How often do you bathe?

A place to discuss health and fitness, healthy diets. A fit body makes for a fit mind.

How often do you bathe?

more than twice a day
2
4%
twice a day
4
7%
once a day
27
50%
several times a week
14
26%
once a week
4
7%
less than once a week
3
6%
 
Total votes: 54

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James the Giant
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by James the Giant »

I'm friends with a lot of ferals, and have become a little feral myself.
I bathe once a week, or whenever I become smelly or excessively itchy. One of my best friends has not bathed in 7 months, he doesn't smell so bad.
I don't understand why people feel they need to shower more. Maybe they get stinky easily, or just enjoy the sensation.

Is this one of those threads designed to prove a point, like the Sex Frequency thread?
Then,
saturated with joy,
you will put an end to suffering and stress.
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tiltbillings
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by tiltbillings »

James the Giant wrote:I'm friends with a lot of ferals ...
"Ferals?" How are you using this word?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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cooran
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by cooran »

Hello all,

Interesting:

Do we really need a daily shower or bath to stay healthy? (Asked by Sarah Murdoch and Karl Stefanovic Today, Nine TV Network, Sydney, Australia)

One of the most widely held myths of modern society is that we humans need to shower or take a bath each day (or even more often than that) for good health.

In modern industrial society today we shower and otherwise bathe for mostly social and aesthetic reasons rather than for those of health. The general rule of thumb is: "If you can stand it socially, you can probably get by hygienically." But in saying this, it must be stressed that bathing is necessary as one can get skin diseases and worse from not bathing at all. But the "one per day" frequency of showers and baths is somewhat unnecessary.

Our great grandparents, our grandparents, and perhaps even our parents probably showered or bathed less often than we do now. It was not so many decades ago when entire families routinely bathed in a common bathtub once a week. Families were larger then, so if you were fifth or sixth in the tub - you can imagine.

Standards in the degree of tolerance of body smells emanating from ourselves and others were different then compared to those of today. The advent of indoor plumbing boosted rates of bathing. It also boosted standards of laundry cleanliness. The one (or more) bathroom(s) and the one washing machine per home made cleanliness convenient to average people for the first time in human history. Cultural expectations shifted, especially over the last century or so to demand a cleaner population - ourselves and others.

Yet still today, nations and cultures differ as to the expectations of bathing. Many factors impinge on this behavior: Amount of readily available water (desert countries often have water restrictions), availability of bathing facilities (much of the world does not have easy access to a private bathroom), occupation (physical labour versus office work), lifestyle (the more athletic, the more showers), season of the year (more bathing in hot summer weather than in cold winter weather), age (teenagers bathe most frequently, the elderly least frequently), religion, other cultural beliefs, etc.

Who are the cleanest people on Earth?

The title of "cleanest people on earth" may go to the Australians. However, research is difficult to come by on this point.

According to an October 2006 survey of 400 people conducted by EnergyAustralia (the supplier of electricity for much of Australia), every Australian takes at least one shower each day. Specifically, "62 per cent of people showered once a day, 29 per cent twice a day, and nine per cent showered three times a day".

These figures imply that no Australian goes more than a day without a shower. This is arguably the highest rate of national showering anywhere in the world and qualifies Australians as the cleanest people on Earth. The survey also found that women take slightly longer showers than men (but only less than a minute more) and teenagers take longer showers than people over age 40. Any arguments?

Stephen Juan, Ph.D. is an anthropologist at the University of Sydney. Email your Odd Body questions to [email protected]


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mikenz66
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by mikenz66 »

tiltbillings wrote:
James the Giant wrote:I'm friends with a lot of ferals ...
"Ferals?" How are you using this word?
Perhaps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_%28subculture%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:
Mike
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DNS
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by DNS »

Dr. Juan article wrote: "If you can stand it socially, you can probably get by hygienically."
But sometimes a fox can't smell his own den.

Since we are having so much fun with this topic, I created a somewhat similar one: How often do you send a shirt to laundry?

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9341" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
PeterB
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by PeterB »

Tibetans hardly ever wash. They dont smell because the body develops its own ecosystem of useful bacteria and yeasts etc.
I dont think I will put it to the test however.
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tiltbillings
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by tiltbillings »

Image
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
PeterB
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by PeterB »

'twould appear to relate to latitude Tilt.
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Ben
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by Ben »

And what's going on with Alaska? They're not even on the scale!
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Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
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PeterB
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by PeterB »

Alaskans just gaze at a picture of Sarah Palin and are immediately cleansed.
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Ben
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by Ben »

Hi Peter,
I actually met a lovely Alaskan couple in Myanmar, both were ATs and stayed on after I left to give the course at Dhamma Joti. I travelled with them around Sagaing and met up with them again in Yangon and shared some unique experiences with them there. They were great fun and inspiring.
And they didn't smell!!
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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m0rl0ck
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by m0rl0ck »

Ben wrote: And they didn't smell!!
kind regards

Ben
They must have been democrats.
“The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling.” ― Robert M. Pirsig
PeterB
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by PeterB »

Ben wrote:Hi Peter,
I actually met a lovely Alaskan couple in Myanmar, both were ATs and stayed on after I left to give the course at Dhamma Joti. I travelled with them around Sagaing and met up with them again in Yangon and shared some unique experiences with them there. They were great fun and inspiring.
And they didn't smell!!
kind regards

Ben
Of course not Ben..they would have carried a picture of Sarah... :heart:
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DNS
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by DNS »

tiltbillings wrote:Image
Interesting. It appears that those in colder climates bathe less which makes some sense.

Also, it appears that the more "liberal" areas such as Oregon, Minnesota, Vermont, bathe the least. It could be for the conservation of resources.

I imagine they would also have similar responses to the How often do you put a shirt for laundry, too.
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retrofuturist
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Re: How often do you bathe?

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
David N. Snyder wrote:Also, it appears that the more "liberal" areas such as Oregon, Minnesota, Vermont, bathe the least. It could be for the conservation of resources.
Image

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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