People who've given up washing

[Greenbare Woods]

Speaking of military sleeping bags. Those old tents and denim covered metal canteens, all had that particular smell about them. New, or old. What was that? Mold? Materials?
Jbee

I think the old WWII surplus canvas materials had a particular smell because of some kind of preservative used during the war. It kept the cotton canvas from rotting in the jungles but had a chemical odor.   

[jbeegoode]

 I can still remember that smell, from when I was a kid. It brings fond memories.
Jbee

[BlueTrain]

When I go into a surplus store (which are becoming scarce around here), I always say it smells like my basement. Likewise, when I go into a garage or service station, there is also a distinctive odor, mostly of grease, I suppose.

Odors or aromas, are interesting. There can be certain smells that will trigger the memory, for better or worse. And it is interesting how the memory of them can linger for so long. There are a lot of strong odors or aromas that are not that unpleasant, although some may not care for them. There is leather, tobacco (but not tobacco smoke), freshly cut grass and freshly cut wood, wood smoke, fresh paint, ground coffee and all sorts of cooking and baking odors. But a walk through the woods can reveal unpleasant odors, like rotting vegetation and other dead things. But even the smell of a creek can trigger pleasant memories of camping trips, too.

The family owned a beach cottage for several decades, up until three or four years ago. It sat empty for most of the year (which is ultimately why it was sold) and when you first went inside, there was the strong aroma of juniper, which the front rooms were paneled with. But you stopped noticing it in ten minutes. Then you started noticing the salt air.

[jbeegoode]

Yup, olfactory is amazing. When I was sleeping up on Mt. Lemon this week, I noticed the smell of something. I was waiting to place it. It wasn't a bear, I somehow know a bear's scent. It dawned to me that it was a close skunk. I have never been that close to a skunk, but a de-scented pet. I certainly know the dead skunk in the middle of the road smell. But, I knew that this was similar enough to that and toned way down. I had an no clear idea how close it was as I lay in my net tent. Rustling confirmed my sense of direction and distance. Maybe, I heard it subtly, maybe not. But, I knew that it was a skunk.

Incidentally, I made some sleeping bag rustling sounds and mumbled talked to myself, nothing too threatening and it left...and covered my head and prayed.
Jbee

[Peter S]

‘I don’t smell!’ Meet the people who have stopped washing
https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/05/i-dont-smell-meet-the-people-who-have-stopped-washing?__twitter_impression=true

[John P]

Thread drift reaches its logical conclusion. Or rather, continuation, since a circle has no end.

BlueTrain, you're up next. The topic is geometry.

[BlueTrain]

Oh, dear!

[jbeegoode]

I watched "Stink" on Netflix last night. It's about toxic chemicals in everyday substances. Stuff that gets into pores, you breathe it in, unlabeled fragrances, buyer beware, unproven safety. The guy bought his kids a pair of pajamas online and they smelled too strong. He had them analyzed and discovered a bunch of toxic soup. Digging deeper, he got business run around, political coverup and corruption, multi-100 million dollar lobbying, misinformation and a USDA and EPA that is just a marketing arm of irresponsible corporate greed.

80,000 chemicals that haven't been studied, and those that have been and deemed harmful and banned are still being used flagrantly and unregulated. Fire retardant chemicals are wrapped around kids every night.

Out of a list of thousands, just five chemicals had been found harmful. In the EU however, 1200 have been banned from teh same list. There are different products for USA and then much of the rest of the world, gets the safety that we don't. Some businesses are effectively and literally using USA as a dumping ground. Even China has more chemical safety regulation.

The jobs, economic argument that government just gets in the way and is inefficient has gone hog wild.

It is just a huge experiment and we are all guinea pigs.

USA babies are born with as much or more of the toxic soup in their bodies as their mothers.

Is all of this just a freakout where over-regulation would not allow innovation and kill business? Most of this stuff in our bodies is harmless trash? Well it builds up, much of it is affecting cell balance and some actually affects DNA. The documentary puts emphasis on scents. All products have scents to sell their stuff. There is no disclosure required for scents, but it is a major source of the thousands of chemicals, which are not natural fragrances, but petroleum products faked to smell nice.

In the EU, GMO is banned, hundreds of these toxic things are not given the benefit of the doubt, the milk and cheese are not slammed with antibiotics, PCB, everybody gets good healthcare, baby leave, vacation time, and multi-party systems make for often real democracy and representation. It isn't on its way to being another third world country. It still isn't where government doesn't really care about people, just the power and economic interests of an elite. AND much of Europe is now reasonable about nude bodies, where people and social interactions control a body, so the government stays away from the freedoms of individuality.

Last night, I was actually considering a move to sunny Spain. When I visited there in the 1960's, it was a place where the water was dangerous to drink, and turds floated around a break to the beach area. Times have changed. I'm sticking to sweats, exercise. The best that I can do is to use "7th Generation" products, not eat meat, except wild and get home grown foods. Now, where's my old copy of "Mother Earth" mag?

I've been swimming at a club (with a Speedo!). I get this chemically treated water all over me. I feel a layer, but I feel somehow antiseptic clean. I wash that off in a water that is obviously unfit to drink (I can taste that). Then, there is the water treatment in the jaccuzzi there, where heat opens my pores to...

So, people don't wash. I think that that is a half measure.
Jbee

[BlueTrain]

There was an article in the Washington Post this morning about letting your kids play in the dirt and creeks. The idea was that children need exposure to things like that to build up their immune systems. It still said you need to wash them when they get dirty or smelly. It likewise pointed out that in times past, kids who grew up in unsanitary conditions had higher rates of infectious diseases and did not physically develop as well as children did otherwise. What is not recognized today, I think, is the slum conditions that some people lived in, mostly in large cities but in shantytowns everywhere. Of course, that didn't bother most people who were living under those conditions and generally believed that it was their own fault for living in such places, an attitude still common. The general opinion was that those who grew up on farms and in rural areas were healthier than some of those living in cities, although to suggest that no one live in the city is not helpful.

This all goes back to the origins of nudism and naturism, which was based on the generally correct belief that city life was not particularly healthy. That was especially true in the more industrial cities, which probably included most of them, when there was zero pollution control. Those who could do something about it didn't care and the rest had to put up with it. That and the fact that draft animals were still commonly used and produced solid pollution in abundance. It was tolerated. Although we don't have streets littered with horse manure now, there are still problems with water in places. Again, those who can do something about it don't care and people have to live with it. The so-called progressive era of a hundred years ago is not even a memory. There used to be more of a civic pride and engagement that dealt with issues like that and got hospitals built. Local civic leadership is now too weak to make a difference (if they care). Big business runs things now. "Let them drink bottled water."

The article still said the healthiest are those who get their vaccinations.

[eyesup]

One of my uncles was career Army. He gave my brother and me one of those old 2 pc. 2 man pup tents. That was back in the early 60’s, it was that green canvas and heavy. I remember that smell.

Duane

[BlueTrain]

Skimming over the posts in this thread, I notice that there are so many exceptions made by those who claim to have given up washing, more or less, that it ends up being no different from my family in the 1950s. We had no shower, a bath was a once-a-week event and we somehow managed to survive, although with all the usual childhood diseases of the day. Neither of our two children had most of them. But not to worry. It may be claimed that cleanliness is next to godliness but it's usually next to impossible.

Although it is certainly possible that people can have a bad odor, it is just as likely that it's the clothing that has the bad odor.

[ric]

body odour is also affected by diet,  generally the more crap you eat and drink the worse the odour.    on the other hand eating raw garlic is reputed to keep insects away

[BlueTrain]

Well, we don't all have the same tastes, you know, or level of tolerance, especially the latter.

Circumstances vary but one's tolerance of dirt and odors usually depend on what you're doing or have been doing (and will be doing), where you are, the company you're with and what you can do about it. Sometimes you can't do anything about it and you have to tolerate it for a while. If you're in the back and beyond, there may not be any water around to spare for washing and the baby wipes have been exhausted. You won't die, to be sure, but as soon as the opportunity presents itself, you might like to wash something.

Thoreau said that it is not necessary to earn one's living by the sweat of his brow, unless he perspires more easily than he did. I perspire profusely but I don't live in Massachusetts. I did, however, spend a summer working on a farm in Massachusetts and I have no memory of sweating very much. Who would remember that, anyway?

Somewhere I may have made mention of a nude hiking trip in the mountains (hills, to be honest) last year. I don't remember sweating like I do when I go for a long walk around here--clothed. Was it because of the higher altitude or the lack of clothing? What I carried was exactly the same. I do recall that I didn't drink much water; never do. Was I perspiring as much and merely not noticing it? Here at home, I notice mainly the sweat on my face (the sweat of my brow, you might say), which literally drips. But not so on those trips (there have been several such trips). It's really just a matter of curiosity, nothing of much importance.

[jbeegoode]

 I always carry water when hiking, dehydration is a matter of great importance. When there is less humidity, and the sweat dries away, it can fool a person and they end up dead, around here. 

Where you live, I grew up in. I remember dad having to move to desert New Mexico to treat his paraciditus (sorry, serious illness, but I can't figure out how to spell it). Summers can be sweaty, like the southern USA in Falls Church, especially down in the hollers and the swampy coastal tributaries. Those eastern hills (some call them mountains ) are less humid and have some elevation.

I'm sure an occasional rinse or dip would needed in such conditions to get rid of some of the toxins on the skin, but maybe no soap. It makes no sense to wear clothing in wet heat...or any heat for that matter.

Although, I'm sure that ancient man and Indians in the south has screens on their porches for bugs...maybe lots of smoke?
Jbee

[BlueTrain]

Nice reply. I just got back from my almost usual two-mile walk or hike over the creek and through the woods. Overcast here today and while not as hot as it's been, it's still pretty humid, which it usually is until it gets down to freezing. The insects can be a nuisance in some places, totally absent in others. They're usually where you expect them to be but never really as bad as they're made out to be. But one little critter buzzing around your face is very annoying. I stopped on the way back to finish my peanut butter & cracker lunch, pausing in a clearing where there were several down trees, using one for a seat and table. No insects about. Walking through the woods on one of my usual paths, though, spider webs are the annoyance, especially right across the face. But most of what there is are gnats here and there, just enough of them to let you know they're there. Usually no flies or other insects.

Up on Skyline Drive, along the Appalachian Trail, it's usually about the same, with swarms of gnats that appear the minute you step out of the car but they stay there (and will be there when you return). Along the trail, there seem to always be big flies in the sunny spots for some reason. There can be deer ticks, too, which you have to watch for. But I don't remember the last time I picked up a tick around the house, even though there are plenty of deer around here. They eat my wife's flowers.

My wife's uncle, who grew up in Chevy Chase, moved to Phoenix sometime in the 1940s also because he had trouble breathing. The dry air was supposedly good for health problems like that. He died with polio in the epidemic in the early 50s.