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I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

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Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In ancient times, right until the attacks by Islamist marauders and "civilized" Britishers, none of what you have mentioned were an issue. Your statement reeks of colonialist attitudes of seeing natives of other lands as some sort of brutes and degenerates living in destitution in poverty. In India, Every village was in the vicinity of a water source. Every village had a temple, with a large pond. Massaging with oil…

If it was a cultural value to feed people outside of the home before yourself and food donation was a cultural promoted ideology then that means there were lots of people to feed..

Yup, afaik these kinds of horizontal gifting relationships were about a) surplus being essentially impossible to store or accumulate as capital so you might as well give it away, and b) modest insurance against bad times - what goes around comes around.

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#62
I always had sensitive skin. I stopped using products in my hair, then I stopped showering my head, then I stopped showering altogether. Now I shower about once a month, washing only parts between the legs daily. I am the most smelly after I shower, that sour sweaty smell. Incidentally I read that this is some kind of fad in Hollywood.

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#63
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In ancient times, right until the attacks by Islamist marauders and "civilized" Britishers, none of what you have mentioned were an issue. Your statement reeks of colonialist attitudes of seeing natives of other lands as some sort of brutes and degenerates living in destitution in poverty. In India, Every village was in the vicinity of a water source. Every village had a temple, with a large pond. Massaging with oil…

[flagged]

How many generations ago did you write that comment?

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#65
post #56
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of animals bathe/groom. Birds, other primates, cats. Tons of mammals swim as well. Deer, bears, etc (what other animals are there??) I've noticed that the more I exercise, the cleaner + healthier my skin is. Showers only get me partly there - I need to sweat through a full rinse cycle to get all the funk out.

> I've noticed that the more I exercise, the cleaner + healthier my skin is. Showers only get me partly there Define "cleaner"? What is not clean about your skin that requires exercise to get clean? After every shower, my skin is just "clean"?

I think he meant 'clearer'.

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#66
post #56
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of animals bathe/groom. Birds, other primates, cats. Tons of mammals swim as well. Deer, bears, etc (what other animals are there??) I've noticed that the more I exercise, the cleaner + healthier my skin is. Showers only get me partly there - I need to sweat through a full rinse cycle to get all the funk out.

> I've noticed that the more I exercise, the cleaner + healthier my skin is. Showers only get me partly there Define "cleaner"? What is not clean about your skin that requires exercise to get clean? After every shower, my skin is just "clean"?

My face skin looks way better with regular exercise. Something about the pores + overall tone. I start to notice a difference after 2 sedentary days, and am repulsed by it after a week+ without exercise. I also get a musk coming from my groin that seems to seep through clothes, and is barely affected by showering.

By sedentary I mean full-on jacked-in to the Matrix, 14 hour days on the computer. Someone with a more balanced life will probably experience it differently.

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#67
post #23

Its funny that western history distorts the history of the rest of the world. I hear western kids saying no one used to bathe in the ancient times. As an Indian, it was practically mandatory for each and every individual to take a bath at-least two times a day. Additionally the following customs were very prevalent till recent times. 1. Washing legs after coming home from outside. 2. Washing hands, face and legs befo…

Indians definitely still have certain specific hygiene practices that Westerners don't. Anybody who has worked at a large tech company will have taken note of the tooth brushes in the bathrooms. I found this to be very confusing at first, but then I noticed that a good amount of my Indian coworkers would brush their teeth after lunch.

[deleted]

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#68
post #23

Its funny that western history distorts the history of the rest of the world. I hear western kids saying no one used to bathe in the ancient times. As an Indian, it was practically mandatory for each and every individual to take a bath at-least two times a day. Additionally the following customs were very prevalent till recent times. 1. Washing legs after coming home from outside. 2. Washing hands, face and legs befo…

Indians definitely still have certain specific hygiene practices that Westerners don't. Anybody who has worked at a large tech company will have taken note of the tooth brushes in the bathrooms. I found this to be very confusing at first, but then I noticed that a good amount of my Indian coworkers would brush their teeth after lunch.

Wait, you people don't brush your teeth after lunch?

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on what you mean by poverty. I mean, how does one even measure it a 1000 years ago. I am suspicious of these reports. Every country has a history of good times and bad times. However, the culture of India is unique in the sense that the most strongest unit was the collective society and cultural practices (food donation being held as the highest ideal, practical prohibition of sale of food, a multitude of rit…

> Depends on what you mean by poverty. I mean, how does one even measure it a 1000 years ago. It's called anthropology, linguistics, geology, and history. They're legitimate fields with highly qualified and knowledgeable professionals. Through their efforts we have a decent idea of what various cultures and lives were like even a thousand years ago through carbon dating, archaeological digs, artefacts, and so forth.

I see some anthropologists themselves quarrelling over the definition of 'poverty' though. Yes they are much knowledgeable than us, but you shouldn't think of them having a straightforward 'answer' like what you usually have for math problems.

So if you are bringing academic authorities to the question, at least namedrop some academics/books/papers, so people can have a constructive debate about this.

Re: I assure you, medieval people bathed (2019)

#70

Someone mentioned in the comments of TFA, but soap-making was an industry in a southern french town since ancient times. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marseille_soap

Absolutely! Also “town” seems rather uncharitable as Marseille has been a city without interruption for the past 2600 years since it’s founding as Massalia by Greek colonists - making it almost as old as Rome. It’s home to 1.8 million today, and a beautiful place to visit!

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Marseille

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