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Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

bbc.com

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Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#71

Post by qbrass »

kstenerud wrote: post #55

I stopped using soap a decade ago. The only time I use it now is for rare occasions where I get something on me that requires soap, such as motor oil or chemicals. I also only wash twice a week or so. People always recoil when I tell them, but then I ask them what I smell like to them. They say I don't really smell like anything. The first month was the worst, because my skin took time to adjust to not having its oil…

The trick with hair is to not get your hair wet, and to brush it out to distribute the oils your scalp puts into your hair.

People used to avoid washing it very often back when soaps were harsher and conditioner wasn't really a thing. It's why shower caps exist.

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#72

Post by iliaznk »

An anecdote:

A reporter interviews an old highlander at his home:

- What's your secret? How did you manage to live for so long? - For all my life I've followed three simple rules: no alcohol, no tobacco and no women!

Suddenly they hear some noise behind the wall in the other room.

- What's that? - asks the reporter. - Oh, that's my elder brother. He's drunk again and is beating his wives for hiding his cigarettes.

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#73

Post by xboxnolifes »

ALittleLight wrote: post #68
nly wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the idea that the average life expectancy in antiquity is 40 ish years more to do with the high infant mortality rate than anything else?

Doesn't this mean that modern medicine is pretty horrible though, apart from infant care? With all our know-how, theories, experience, tools, drugs, scanners, etc - we still basically aren't much better than ancient Greece?

Alternatively, it could mean our way of life is terrible and our medical knowledge is the only thing keeping us ahead.

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#74

Post by Maursault »

nextaccountic wrote: post #69
Maursault wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Soap isn't what gets things clean, anyway, water does. Soap merely lowers water surface tension, and making water molecules stick together less helps water clean more easily.

That's interesting. But soap also helps in surrounding fats with a water-soluble membrane, right?

I'm not sure why fats would be difficult to wash off, and soaps are made from fats through saponification.[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponification

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#75

Post by yamrzou »

barbazoo wrote: post #46
marcodiego wrote: post #38

> Amou Haji finally succumbed to pressure and washed a few months ago. > According to Iran's IRNA news agency, he became ill shortly afterwards and died on Sunday. I don't think evolution prepared us to 3 showers a day. I also don't think it prepared us to instantly available unhealthy all-food-you-can-eat. We have to consider how much of our sedentary behavior is unnatural and how much of it is really improving our…

I've never thought about showering 3 times a day. Is that common anywhere?

Muslims do a purification ritual called "Wudu" that requires washing face, hands, arms, and feet 5 times a day, once before each prayer.

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#76

Post by mc32 »

eganist wrote: post #2

> But, local media say, Amou Haji finally succumbed to pressure and washed a few months ago. > According to Iran's IRNA news agency, he became ill shortly afterwards and died on Sunday. I'm really hoping an autopsy is done to figure out what exactly killed him, because this might be the most interesting opportunity for a hygiene case study in generations. Identifying even just one potential opportunistic disease, aut…

It's possible his immune system was busy keeping infections and so on at bay, but once those targets were removed the immune system reacted in a way detrimental to his health? A sort of shock to the system.

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#77

Post by metalliqaz »

Maursault wrote: post #74
nextaccountic wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's interesting. But soap also helps in surrounding fats with a water-soluble membrane, right?

I'm not sure why fats would be difficult to wash off, and soaps are made from fats through saponification.[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponification

Fats and oils are hydrophobic.

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#78

Post by newt_slowly »

kstenerud wrote: post #55

I stopped using soap a decade ago. The only time I use it now is for rare occasions where I get something on me that requires soap, such as motor oil or chemicals. I also only wash twice a week or so. People always recoil when I tell them, but then I ask them what I smell like to them. They say I don't really smell like anything. The first month was the worst, because my skin took time to adjust to not having its oil…

I also stopped using soap several years ago. I shower ~3 times a week, and still scrub areas like my armpits but only using water. As confirmed by friends and family, I don't smell. Granted, I've never had much body odor - I can't confirm this would work well if I naturally smelled more after heavy exercise.

I find it plausible that cleaning too much (or with chemicals that alter the microbiome) could be harmful and as such it doesn't seem worth it - following the precautionary principle - unless there were a specific indication to use soap for treating a disease or illness.

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#79

Post by [deleted] »

mc32 wrote: post #76
eganist wrote: post #2

> But, local media say, Amou Haji finally succumbed to pressure and washed a few months ago. > According to Iran's IRNA news agency, he became ill shortly afterwards and died on Sunday. I'm really hoping an autopsy is done to figure out what exactly killed him, because this might be the most interesting opportunity for a hygiene case study in generations. Identifying even just one potential opportunistic disease, aut…

It's possible his immune system was busy keeping infections and so on at bay, but once those targets were removed the immune system reacted in a way detrimental to his health? A sort of shock to the system.

[deleted]

Re: Iranian man who didn't wash for half a century dies at 94

#80

Post by pixxel »

kstenerud wrote: post #55

I stopped using soap a decade ago. The only time I use it now is for rare occasions where I get something on me that requires soap, such as motor oil or chemicals. I also only wash twice a week or so. People always recoil when I tell them, but then I ask them what I smell like to them. They say I don't really smell like anything. The first month was the worst, because my skin took time to adjust to not having its oil…

May I ask why you stopped using soap?

I can imagine not using soap on arms, legs and torso, but not for intimate areas!

I’m intrigued for sure :)

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