# A question about the blind. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 1999, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280 "1999-07-27T06:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 1999, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/1 "1999-07-27T06:34:00Z")
## I realize that this is a pretty indelicate subject but it’s one that my brother always asked me, (as if I were blind) how do blind people know when they are done cleaning themselves after they take a dump ? Take Good Care, Scott E. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 1999, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/2 "1999-07-27T07:02:00Z")
I don’t want to presume about your anatomy, Scott, but most people find that the position of their eyes vis-a-vis their anus pretty much rules out a visual inspection. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 1999, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/3 "1999-07-27T09:20:00Z")
Don’t forget that people who are without a sense (hearing, vision…) usually have “over devolped” the rest of their senses to make due. For example I see blind people cross even the most busy intersections relying on just hearing to tell if traffic has stopped or how far away it is, in what direction, and probably even the speed that someone is traveling towards or away from them. Basically… let’s just say… they figure it out one way or another. * * * Formerly known as Nec3f on the AOL SDMB ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 1999, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/4 "1999-07-27T09:47:00Z")
> [@](#): > > position of their eyes vis-a-vis their anus pretty much rules out a visual inspection. Mike, you’re forgetting the proximity of some people’s heads to the area in question. As in “inside looking out.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 1999, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/5 "1999-07-27T15:38:00Z")
- - - Well, I don’t know about everybody, but I saw this movie once where - well, it was a video really, and this lady - , uh, well, she didn’t do that, but she, uh, - -nevermind. - MC ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 1999, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/6 "1999-07-27T21:10:00Z")
Pardon for being blunt, but that is what noses are for. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 1999, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/7 "1999-07-30T21:40:00Z")
_What_ is it “noses are for.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 1999, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/8 "1999-07-30T22:15:00Z")
Oh man. This is BEYOND indelicate. Okay… "Olestra"anyone? “TIME” did a big story when it was first approved, and in it was a relevant detail. Humans can detect an INCREDIBLY small amount of fluid, or solid, at the …uh…opening. I mean…small. Sight has nothing to do with this. Sheeesh. What ever happened to threads about the Shroud Of Turin??? Typer ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 1999, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/9 "1999-07-31T01:11:00Z")
What the eye cannot see, the nose can see. So where you might look at the paper, they can smell it. Also,the finger method works but is not as clean. In India, they don’t use toilet paper. They use a jar of water and the right hand. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 1999, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/10 "1999-07-31T02:34:00Z")
handy: > [@](#): > > In India, they don’t use toilet paper. They use a jar of water and the right hand. How do they clean the jar, then? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 1999, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/11 "1999-07-31T03:42:00Z")
They don’t. They re-cycle it. (sorry…but you left your end “wide open”) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 1999, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/12 "1999-08-01T03:52:00Z")
SLY, you sure it’s the right hand? In Arab cultures the left hand is never used in eating because , uh, well, out in the desert there aren’t even any leaves so the left hand is cleaned afterwards with sand. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 1999, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/13 "1999-08-01T04:32:00Z")
Blind people probably lead skid mark lives and just don’t know about it. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 1999, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/14 "1999-08-01T16:16:00Z")
I don’t believe anybody can detect the smell of leftovers in a room where they just prepared dinner. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 1999, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/15 "1999-08-01T16:17:00Z")
Mr. John is correct and Handy is incorrect. The right hand is used for eating. **Never** would one use his right hand for cleansing himself. * * * “I think it would be a great idea” Mohandas Ghandi’s answer when asked what he thought of Western civilization ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 1999, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/16 "1999-08-01T16:20:00Z")
And about the jar…it’s called a lotha (low-tah), and it doesn’t get dirty. You hold the lotha in your left hand, pour some water into your right hand, and wash. Repeat as necessary. Much more hygenic than toilet paper, if you ask me. * * * “I think it would be a great idea” Mohandas Ghandi’s answer when asked what he thought of Western civilization ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 1999, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/17 "1999-08-01T16:21:00Z")
Damn! I said that all backwards. You hold the lotha in your **right** hand, pour the water in you **left** hand. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 1999, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/18 "1999-08-02T05:01:00Z")
Really Lucky? So hard to believe that everyone HAS to do it that way. They don’t. They can use whatever hand they want to. However, how does the water get to the right area? I would assume a bit of splashing and, thus, a mess, so there must be something I don’t know about it yet. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 1999, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/19 "1999-08-02T02:25:00Z")
Let’s put it this way, handy. In the muslim world, it’s considered **extremely** offensive to use your left hand for eating or greeting. In Arabian Nights, there is a story about a man who couldn’t use his right hand for some reason, and the consequences he faced from using the left hand. Socialized this strongly to use the right hand for social matters, you can be sure they are also socialized to use the left hand for sanitary reasons. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 1999, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280/20 "1999-08-02T02:55:00Z")
More hygienic? Please. Someone tell me how splashing water on your ass is going to get it clean. What about females - do they let the runoff get in contact with other areas that do not benefit from the presence of intestinal flora and fauna? Aren’t females taught to wipe front-to-back? Do they use different hands for cleaning each area? (I assume they wash their hands before handing the jar back to themselves). I think that lotha thing is a load of crap, and I don’t care what anyone says, you have to wipe that shit off. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-blind/2280.md?page=2)