It's kind of funny how Stevegongrui started this thread when he's also the guy who started the bidet thread awhile back..... remember how concerned he was about that us Americans don't keep our asses clean enough?
well, you see, to me fecal remnants is more Dég (dégoutant(disgusting)) than dirt or sweat on skin.
true, the likelihood someone will sniff your ass is low, but heck, you are the ones that claim you want to be clean with showers.
American Airlines flies 777's from DC to Frankfurt. You don't have to live in Europe for any sort of period of time to realize that many Europeans (1) smell like BO (2) smell like a mix of BO and cologne (3) smell like a mix of BO, cologne, and cigarette smoke.
Hell, after spending any amount of time out and about in, say, Rome (been there), YOU start to smell like smoke. BO and cologne is optional.
Remember... we don't have bidets in the USA. Ergo... more showers.
Bidet's don't wash your hair, back, pits, chest, etc.
It just doesn't feel right to shower less frequently than on a daily basis. I can definitely feel a day's worth of oil and dirt build-up. I shower in the PM, before I go to bed. Maybe it's because I'm lazy, but since I sleep in my undies, it keeps my sheets cleaner. I also don't think I sweat much in bed, so I don't suddenly wake-up a whole lot dirtier...
And I don't sweat much either, so imagine the average sweaty, overweight American...be thankful most shower daily.
And I don't sweat much either, so imagine the average sweaty, overweight American...be thankful most shower daily.
---
stevegongrui, you stink.
You know what, it must be my asian heritage. I don't get sweaty or dirty nearly as easy as white people. I think deoderant is for the other races. In fact, deo doesn't sell well in asia afaik. (at least not in china)
American Airlines flies 777's from DC to Frankfurt. You don't have to live in Europe for any sort of period of time to realize that many Europeans (1) smell like BO (2) smell like a mix of BO and cologne (3) smell like a mix of BO, cologne, and cigarette smoke.
Hell, after spending any amount of time out and about in, say, Rome (been there), YOU start to smell like smoke. BO and cologne is optional.
hmm.... you know, after you mention the BO cologne combo, I see what you mean...
Yeah, a lot of hairy Italian men stink. I don't think showers help though, in their case. It's rather hopeless. In fact, I know a couple of italians that shave in the morning and after a couple of hours they already need to shave again. It's pretty bad.
But then again of course, there are the Italians with a less expressed allele of this hairy/sweaty gene, so it's not everyone.
However, I have encountered few Italian people of the younger generation (like mine (1985)) that smell.
I've been showering daily for as long as I can remember (with exceptions on weekends when I wake late in the afternoon.) Things like gym class, summers, and working out add to my daily showers.
Living in Europe now, I notice who showers daily and who doesn't. The first give-a-way is the hair when you seen them from afar. The second is obvious when you stand next to them.
I remember reading Shogun years ago. There were many references by the Japanese of the "smelly white people" who didn't bathe. If that's historical, maybe that could be a basis for today's Europe?
Water conservation is a more important topic here than in the States, though. Maybe this plays a role as well.
I don't know about the long-term hygiene of a daily showers, but I feel much better and cleaner after I shower.
Robot I don't know who writes your material but damn you're funny in an oh so innocent way sometimes....I'd shampoo if I had mud in my hair.
And Powerdoc, it's gone from me thinking what is it with this guy and the "practising sport" thing to the point where if you don't mention "practising sport" in a post I feel really cheated.
Anyway, as a dancer, I can just about guarantee I sweat more than all of you combined. How much? Well enough so that my clothes are literally saturated. Forget about showering several times a day - that's a given. Add in several changes of clothes a day as well. I sweat enough to know that a drop of perspiration will turn an iPod on.
Which brings me to another reason for frequent showering. It's damn good relief for aching muscles.
However, I have also noted that when I "go bush" (eg. camping) and frequent showering is not an option, I feel a lot less dirty. I think you feel (and probably are) dirtier living in urban environments.
But on the whole, I think you're right steve, that most people in the US, Oz and probably Canada as well shower more than is necessary. There's about half a dozen jokes about the bathing habits of Poms just begging to be made but in the all new, you beaut AO, they're probably better left unsaid.
One thing to keep in mind is that in some places in the US, we re-use a fair amount of our water. It goes to treatment plants, goes through various cleansing and purification processes, and then is re-used in some way - possibly for irrigation of crops and lawns. Water that is used for crops and lawns, drains down through the filtration system of the ground and reaches the water table, where it is taken up again in city wells, tested and cleansed, and then re-used in some way.
Some cities may not have irrigation systems for lawns, but in mine (a hot area of the country) we do. Water is a valuable commodity here, so we try to use it wisely, without wasting, and then re-use what we can.
People should wash their sheets (imo) in a bleach wash, once every week or two. Why? Because microscopic bits of skin slough off into the sheets during sleep. There are little critters, also microscopic, who inhabit those sheets to eat that sloughed-off skin.
I saw a picture of them on a National Geographic special one time. You would be shocked if you saw what they look like. According to that special, there are also little critters who live in the eyelashes of humans. They consume the material generated by human tear ducts at night.
Then there are the dust mites. Dust (and sloughed-off skin) get in your pillow. Mites hang out in the pillow to consume the dust, etc. Then they excrete (dust-mite fecal) material (onto the pillowcase) that people breathe in at night. This stuff causes allergic reactions, such as stuffed-up noses, congestion, coughing, respiratory problems in general. A nice bleach wash cleans all the crud and critters out of that pillowcase.
People sweat at least a PINT of sweat each night during sleep. Sweat contains urea, skin oils, salts, body dirt, etc. Can you imagine unwashed sheets that go for weeks - night after night of sweat, sloughed-off skin, dust and skin mites (and their fecal excretions!)...urgh.
Regarding body odor - every American knows someone (as was said above) who has had this problem. No one wants to BE that person. My dad had someone who worked in his office like that. Finally he just had to call this guy in one day and tell him that people had been complaining about his body odor, and that he needed to shower daily and wear clean clothes daily.
People who *never* want to worry about that problem shower daily and wear fresh, clean clothes daily.
And Steve, you say America is responsible for 40% of the water consumption in the world. But it's not like water is 'used' and then 'lost' forever. It keeps recycling, by going into the earth and into the water tables, or by evaporating and coming back as rain.
Didn't you start a thread once about dating American girls? Well, here's the thing. If you want to date American girls, my advice would be to shower every morning, and then again before a date. And wear clean clothes daily, especially on a date.
Most people are reluctant to tell someone they smell, because it's an embarrassing and quite personal situation. So it's possible that people whose body or clothes smell might go for a long time before someone finally clues them in.
I teach 13-year-olds. Their manners are not yet highly developed. In the classroom, if someone walks by them who has a body odor problem, they will just come right out and say, "Ooo, you SMELL!" The smelly kid will be humiliated, and will begin showering every morning and wearing freshly-laundered clothes every day. If not, then he will be shunned by his classmates. It's a hard lesson to learn.
i generally pop in the shower everyday, except sundays when its lazy day. i dont do the whole rigamarole everday, every other day its just a quick cleaning. for clothes, i wear them more than once a wash-cycle; jeans sometimes 3 or 4 times. well underwear is an exception. and i try to make a point of not wearing the same thing on two consecutive days. i do the bedsheet and pillow cases every, or every other week, depending on if i remember.
the smell between the mixture of sometimes worn clothes, "half" showers, and the daily grind generates a nice musk.
Didn't you start a thread once about dating American girls? Well, here's the thing. If you want to date American girls, my advice would be to shower every morning, and then again before a date. And wear clean clothes daily, especially on a date.
Now, lets face it, are you really that dirty if you don't shower every single day? In the end, it also depends on of course how much you sweat and stuff, but most of the time I don't think it's really necessary to shower every day, especially during the winter when you don't really sweat or get exposed to dirty outside environment (clothes). I think that this dirtiness feeling is just placebo.
What about sweat? What about removing the finer pieces of shit stuck on your ass after a not so-perfect wipe with the tissue paper?
You're insane, Steve. Come on... not showering? You tell me you wake up in the morning, throw on the clothes you wore yesterday, and just go off and go through your day? Then you come home, throw your clothes on a chair, go to bed again, then wake up and smell yourself and MAYBE take a shower before putting on the same clothes again? I know what it's like when I go a day or two without showering - EEEEWWW!!! I can smell myself, and I am totally sure others can smell me. It's disgusting and no one should have to put up with that. The only thing I will say is that I don't think deodorant is 100% necessary if you shower every day and you don't do any intense physical activity. I almost always wear it anyway though. It's kind of gross to think that you wear the same clothes many days in a row AND you don't shower every day AND you don't wear deodorant. If only one of those things were true, it might not be so disgusting.
Anyway, good luck trying to get the ladies. Hopefully it'll increase the other guys' chances.
haha 'white people' get dirtier then 'asian people'
...and we are devils too
Here is how it goes...
-Shower once a day, or at LEAST once every two days.
-Shirts (outer and under) are worn once, at max two, but that's pushing it.
-Pants (jeans) can be worn up to 3 times...4 is pushing it but doable.
CarolA, I know you said those 13 yr olds are harsh, but that is an excellent way to understand the importance of not stinking. Merely suggesting they shower without any negatives probably wouldn't work as well.
Speaking of wasting water:
-Normally 6, but now 7 people living in my house, you better believe we all take shower longer then 10 min.
haha 'white people' get dirtier then 'asian people'
...and we are devils too
Here is how it goes...
-Shower once a day, or at LEAST once every two days.
-Shirts (outer and under) are worn once, at max two, but that's pushing it.
-Pants (jeans) can be worn up to 3 times...4 is pushing it but doable.
CarolA, I know you said those 13 yr olds are harsh, but that is an excellent way to understand the importance of not stinking. Merely suggesting they shower without any negatives probably wouldn't work as well.
Speaking of wasting water:
-Normally 6, but now 7 people living in my house, you better believe we all take shower longer then 10 min.
You also have to realize that to a certain extent the endogenous skin bacteria in the US is different than in Europe, while this may not make that big of a difference, I know from personal experience that a person's funk can change depending on what bacteria are present on the skin.
To address the main point, showering every day won't harm the skin if you use soap that has the appropriate hardness/softness... Also, if I don't shower every day, I can smell myself, and that consciously is not a good thing (this goes for clothing as well, where wearing a t-shirt more than once actually causes my skin to break out). Perhaps I am an oily exception (i am not really oily), but if a five minute shower will take care of these concerns then why not?
I see why you american people shower so often? you don't use deodorant.
If you shower once every two days, you need deodorant. If you shower once every day, maybe you don't. Thing is, that here in Europe, or at least here in Switzerland, people use a deodorant after they showered. Everyone does. Of course, except the one guy who doesn't need deodorant, but you all know him.
I think that this is the main difference, the use of deodorant.
Comments
Originally posted by Akumulator
It's kind of funny how Stevegongrui started this thread when he's also the guy who started the bidet thread awhile back..... remember how concerned he was about that us Americans don't keep our asses clean enough?
well, you see, to me fecal remnants is more Dég (dégoutant(disgusting)) than dirt or sweat on skin.
true, the likelihood someone will sniff your ass is low, but heck, you are the ones that claim you want to be clean with showers.
Originally posted by stevegongrui
Now, about THAT guy, where do you see him and how infrequent are you guessing that he takes showers?
If you don't know then it's probably you.
Originally posted by Splinemodel
Maybe it's why people in Europe smell bad and have to cover it up with cologne and smoke.
And what do you base this claim on?
Originally posted by stevegongrui
And what do you base this claim on?
American Airlines flies 777's from DC to Frankfurt. You don't have to live in Europe for any sort of period of time to realize that many Europeans (1) smell like BO (2) smell like a mix of BO and cologne (3) smell like a mix of BO, cologne, and cigarette smoke.
Hell, after spending any amount of time out and about in, say, Rome (been there), YOU start to smell like smoke. BO and cologne is optional.
Originally posted by tonton
Remember... we don't have bidets in the USA. Ergo... more showers.
Bidet's don't wash your hair, back, pits, chest, etc.
It just doesn't feel right to shower less frequently than on a daily basis. I can definitely feel a day's worth of oil and dirt build-up. I shower in the PM, before I go to bed. Maybe it's because I'm lazy, but since I sleep in my undies, it keeps my sheets cleaner. I also don't think I sweat much in bed, so I don't suddenly wake-up a whole lot dirtier...
And I don't sweat much either, so imagine the average sweaty, overweight American...be thankful most shower daily.
---
stevegongrui, you stink.
Originally posted by Eugene
And I don't sweat much either, so imagine the average sweaty, overweight American...be thankful most shower daily.
---
stevegongrui, you stink.
You know what, it must be my asian heritage. I don't get sweaty or dirty nearly as easy as white people. I think deoderant is for the other races. In fact, deo doesn't sell well in asia afaik. (at least not in china)
Originally posted by Splinemodel
American Airlines flies 777's from DC to Frankfurt. You don't have to live in Europe for any sort of period of time to realize that many Europeans (1) smell like BO (2) smell like a mix of BO and cologne (3) smell like a mix of BO, cologne, and cigarette smoke.
Hell, after spending any amount of time out and about in, say, Rome (been there), YOU start to smell like smoke. BO and cologne is optional.
hmm.... you know, after you mention the BO cologne combo, I see what you mean...
Yeah, a lot of hairy Italian men stink. I don't think showers help though, in their case. It's rather hopeless. In fact, I know a couple of italians that shave in the morning and after a couple of hours they already need to shave again. It's pretty bad.
But then again of course, there are the Italians with a less expressed allele of this hairy/sweaty gene, so it's not everyone.
However, I have encountered few Italian people of the younger generation (like mine (1985)) that smell.
Living in Europe now, I notice who showers daily and who doesn't. The first give-a-way is the hair when you seen them from afar. The second is obvious when you stand next to them.
I remember reading Shogun years ago. There were many references by the Japanese of the "smelly white people" who didn't bathe. If that's historical, maybe that could be a basis for today's Europe?
Water conservation is a more important topic here than in the States, though. Maybe this plays a role as well.
I don't know about the long-term hygiene of a daily showers, but I feel much better and cleaner after I shower.
Robot I don't know who writes your material but damn you're funny in an oh so innocent way sometimes....I'd shampoo if I had mud in my hair.
And Powerdoc, it's gone from me thinking what is it with this guy and the "practising sport" thing to the point where if you don't mention "practising sport" in a post I feel really cheated.
Anyway, as a dancer, I can just about guarantee I sweat more than all of you combined. How much? Well enough so that my clothes are literally saturated. Forget about showering several times a day - that's a given. Add in several changes of clothes a day as well. I sweat enough to know that a drop of perspiration will turn an iPod on.
Which brings me to another reason for frequent showering. It's damn good relief for aching muscles.
However, I have also noted that when I "go bush" (eg. camping) and frequent showering is not an option, I feel a lot less dirty. I think you feel (and probably are) dirtier living in urban environments.
But on the whole, I think you're right steve, that most people in the US, Oz and probably Canada as well shower more than is necessary. There's about half a dozen jokes about the bathing habits of Poms just begging to be made but in the all new, you beaut AO, they're probably better left unsaid.
Originally posted by stevegongrui
fecal remnants
aka "Willknots" - little bits of shit that get caught in the hairs round your arse and just will not come out.
Sorry, sorry, sorry. I'm a bit pissed.
One thing to keep in mind is that in some places in the US, we re-use a fair amount of our water. It goes to treatment plants, goes through various cleansing and purification processes, and then is re-used in some way - possibly for irrigation of crops and lawns. Water that is used for crops and lawns, drains down through the filtration system of the ground and reaches the water table, where it is taken up again in city wells, tested and cleansed, and then re-used in some way.
Some cities may not have irrigation systems for lawns, but in mine (a hot area of the country) we do. Water is a valuable commodity here, so we try to use it wisely, without wasting, and then re-use what we can.
People should wash their sheets (imo) in a bleach wash, once every week or two. Why? Because microscopic bits of skin slough off into the sheets during sleep. There are little critters, also microscopic, who inhabit those sheets to eat that sloughed-off skin.
I saw a picture of them on a National Geographic special one time. You would be shocked if you saw what they look like. According to that special, there are also little critters who live in the eyelashes of humans. They consume the material generated by human tear ducts at night.
Then there are the dust mites. Dust (and sloughed-off skin) get in your pillow. Mites hang out in the pillow to consume the dust, etc. Then they excrete (dust-mite fecal) material (onto the pillowcase) that people breathe in at night. This stuff causes allergic reactions, such as stuffed-up noses, congestion, coughing, respiratory problems in general. A nice bleach wash cleans all the crud and critters out of that pillowcase.
People sweat at least a PINT of sweat each night during sleep. Sweat contains urea, skin oils, salts, body dirt, etc. Can you imagine unwashed sheets that go for weeks - night after night of sweat, sloughed-off skin, dust and skin mites (and their fecal excretions!)...urgh.
Regarding body odor - every American knows someone (as was said above) who has had this problem. No one wants to BE that person. My dad had someone who worked in his office like that. Finally he just had to call this guy in one day and tell him that people had been complaining about his body odor, and that he needed to shower daily and wear clean clothes daily.
People who *never* want to worry about that problem shower daily and wear fresh, clean clothes daily.
And Steve, you say America is responsible for 40% of the water consumption in the world. But it's not like water is 'used' and then 'lost' forever. It keeps recycling, by going into the earth and into the water tables, or by evaporating and coming back as rain.
Didn't you start a thread once about dating American girls? Well, here's the thing. If you want to date American girls, my advice would be to shower every morning, and then again before a date. And wear clean clothes daily, especially on a date.
Most people are reluctant to tell someone they smell, because it's an embarrassing and quite personal situation. So it's possible that people whose body or clothes smell might go for a long time before someone finally clues them in.
I teach 13-year-olds. Their manners are not yet highly developed. In the classroom, if someone walks by them who has a body odor problem, they will just come right out and say, "Ooo, you SMELL!" The smelly kid will be humiliated, and will begin showering every morning and wearing freshly-laundered clothes every day. If not, then he will be shunned by his classmates. It's a hard lesson to learn.
the smell between the mixture of sometimes worn clothes, "half" showers, and the daily grind generates a nice musk.
Originally posted by Carol A
Didn't you start a thread once about dating American girls? Well, here's the thing. If you want to date American girls, my advice would be to shower every morning, and then again before a date. And wear clean clothes daily, especially on a date.
Originally posted by stevegongrui
Now, lets face it, are you really that dirty if you don't shower every single day? In the end, it also depends on of course how much you sweat and stuff, but most of the time I don't think it's really necessary to shower every day, especially during the winter when you don't really sweat or get exposed to dirty outside environment (clothes). I think that this dirtiness feeling is just placebo.
What about sweat? What about removing the finer pieces of shit stuck on your ass after a not so-perfect wipe with the tissue paper?
Stay away from me. You scare me.
Anyway, good luck trying to get the ladies. Hopefully it'll increase the other guys' chances.
...and we are devils too
Here is how it goes...
-Shower once a day, or at LEAST once every two days.
-Shirts (outer and under) are worn once, at max two, but that's pushing it.
-Pants (jeans) can be worn up to 3 times...4 is pushing it but doable.
CarolA, I know you said those 13 yr olds are harsh, but that is an excellent way to understand the importance of not stinking. Merely suggesting they shower without any negatives probably wouldn't work as well.
Speaking of wasting water:
-Normally 6, but now 7 people living in my house, you better believe we all take shower longer then 10 min.
-I leave the water on while I brush my teeth
Originally posted by ast3r3x
haha 'white people' get dirtier then 'asian people'
...and we are devils too
Here is how it goes...
-Shower once a day, or at LEAST once every two days.
-Shirts (outer and under) are worn once, at max two, but that's pushing it.
-Pants (jeans) can be worn up to 3 times...4 is pushing it but doable.
CarolA, I know you said those 13 yr olds are harsh, but that is an excellent way to understand the importance of not stinking. Merely suggesting they shower without any negatives probably wouldn't work as well.
Speaking of wasting water:
-Normally 6, but now 7 people living in my house, you better believe we all take shower longer then 10 min.
-I leave the water on while I brush my teeth
To address the main point, showering every day won't harm the skin if you use soap that has the appropriate hardness/softness... Also, if I don't shower every day, I can smell myself, and that consciously is not a good thing (this goes for clothing as well, where wearing a t-shirt more than once actually causes my skin to break out). Perhaps I am an oily exception (i am not really oily), but if a five minute shower will take care of these concerns then why not?
If you shower once every two days, you need deodorant. If you shower once every day, maybe you don't. Thing is, that here in Europe, or at least here in Switzerland, people use a deodorant after they showered. Everyone does. Of course, except the one guy who doesn't need deodorant, but you all know him.
I think that this is the main difference, the use of deodorant.