# A Very Un-PC Thread: The Most Unhygienic Custom You Can Think Of. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748 "2009-05-08T14:00:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![imfloating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@imfloating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imfloating)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/81 "2009-05-11T19:31:19Z")
In my wife’s family, everyone holds hands at the dinner table to say grace before they eat. I try to excuse myself afterwards and wash my hands before eating. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/82 "2009-05-11T19:44:59Z")
You people aren’t even trying. There are _plenty_ of gross, disgusting habits out there. I don’t know if it’s genuine or not\*, but in **Eaters of the Dead** , Michael Crichton writes of a Viking custom of each Viking washing using the same basin of water, from the highest-ranking on down. That’s troubling enough, but at the end of each wash-up the person spits (or worse) in the water, so the last guy is washing in everyone else’s used wash water and spit. For that matter, the process of using someone else’s used bath water (hey, it’s still _hot_, right) that used to be practiced by boarding houses a century ago is pretty icky in its own right. And don’t get me started on some people’s sexual practices. There’s an entire universe of “ick” out there. - Probably true, since he based a lot of his material on existing manuscripts, at least for this book. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/83 "2009-05-11T19:50:47Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > a Viking custom of each Viking washing using the same basin of water, from the highest-ranking on down. That’s troubling enough, but at the end of each wash-up the person spits (or worse) in the water, so the last guy is washing in everyone else’s used wash water and spit. FIRST thing I thought of when I heard “unhygienic customs”! . . . :dubious: I took the OP to mean things we experience regularly, or at least customs which are widely known and practiced. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/84 "2009-05-11T20:59:27Z")
> [@imfloating](#): > > In my wife’s family, everyone holds hands at the dinner table to say grace before they eat. I try to excuse myself afterwards and wash my hands before eating. And you recoil in conscientious horror whenever a blowjob is proffered, right? I mean, that mouth on your dick could have _kissed_ one or more of your filthy relatives. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/85 "2009-05-11T21:43:15Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Those Indians using cow dung to clean? They will not touch food that has been on someone else’s plate. That’s not hygiene, that’s survival instinct. Nick something off my plate and you’d better have made peace with your God. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/86 "2009-05-11T21:56:32Z")
Some mothers suck the [mucus out of their baby’s noses](http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-9507.0.html) when they catch a cold. I have a pretty high _ick_ threshhold, but that clears it by a mile. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/87 "2009-05-11T22:02:27Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Some mothers suck the [mucus out of their baby’s noses](http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-9507.0.html) when they catch a cold. I have a pretty high _ick_ threshhold, but that clears it by a mile. The first time I heard about that was the closest I came to vomiting out of sheer ick. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/88 "2009-05-12T00:09:10Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Don’t they use the other end of the chopsticks to transfer the food from the communal bowl to their individual little rice bowls? Maybe somewhere, but not here. Here you grab the food from the communal tray, make a tiny cursory dip somewhere near your rice bowl and then put it in your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/89 "2009-05-12T00:30:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > For that matter, the process of using someone else’s used bath water (hey, it’s still _hot_, right) that used to be practiced by boarding houses a century ago is pretty icky in its own right. Yeah, Japan is pretty filthy that way. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/90 "2009-05-12T00:50:11Z")
Is [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=872088&postcount=110) a custom? Putting toddlers in day care. I think you could go to the West African rain forest and groom monkeys with your lips and not get as many diseases as you can from a toddler in day care. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/91 "2009-05-12T00:56:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah, Japan is pretty filthy that way. I’m talking about single-person bathtubs used for actually washing the dirt off your body. In Japan, only a barbarian would get into the communal bath without washing first. It’s a whole different thing. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/92 "2009-05-12T02:12:39Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > You do realise **Ninja Chick** that the “clean with hand crowd” find the whole cleaing with toilet paper disgusting. _You mean you don’t wash and dry yourself!_. > > One of my least favourite things about living in England is the absence of [these](http://www.burnleyplumbing.co.uk/images/bathrooms/bidet_spray/shattaf_spray.gif). I see these in hotels and the like in Islamic places and I have never been sure what you are supposed to do with them. If you shoved 'em down there and let rip with a spray of water on the old freckle, I imagine it would work brilliantly. But then you would have a dripping wet chocolate starfish that now requires wiping, or else getting back into your pants is going to leave a huge wet splodge all over your clothes. If it is not TMI, how do you make these things work? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/93 "2009-05-12T04:20:06Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > They say that dogs’ mouths are much cleaner than ours. My GF is always trying to get her dog to kiss her, but to no avail. Last night, though, the pooch was in strange mood to kiss. She (the dog, not the GF) had just returned from some fine dining at Chez Litter Box. > > No thanks. It’s funny to see someone kissing their dog and ask them what the dogs ass tastes like. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/94 "2009-05-12T05:38:28Z")
> [@Noel\_Prosequi](#): > > I see these in hotels and the like in Islamic places and I have never been sure what you are supposed to do with them. If you shoved 'em down there and let rip with a spray of water on the old freckle, I imagine it would work brilliantly. But then you would have a dripping wet chocolate starfish that now requires wiping, or else getting back into your pants is going to leave a huge wet splodge all over your clothes. > > If it is not TMI, how do you make these things work? I’ve only had experiences with bidets in Europe and South America (not very Islamic places), but they were wonderful. The U.S. is sadly behind (rimshot) in matters of butt sanitation. For starters, if your starfish is still chocolate afterwards, you’re doing it wrong. If I’m in a hotel, I just use toilet paper to pat the area dry. If there is no toilet paper available, you can just let it drip dry for a few seconds and deal with a little bit of moisture in your underwear. I lived in a bidet-only environment for two years as a college-aged man, and we (my roommates and I) were too cheap for toilet paper, so each roommate had his own designated “butt-rag” with which he dried his (mostly) clean butt. Unfortunately, one day I returned to my apartment and learned that a visitor had appropriated my butt-rag to dry himself off with. I guess he wasn’t a germophobe. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/95 "2009-05-12T06:06:36Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > So they’re making sterile, shelf-stable Insta-Lye, just add water. Again, brilliant! (If a little tough on the hands. Madge would not approve.) Dude - you gave yourself away. Are you a kiwi (or did that ad screen other places I don’t know about?) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/96 "2009-05-12T12:18:56Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It’s funny to see someone kissing their dog and ask them what the dogs ass tastes like. My dog’s lips taste like some _other_ dog’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/97 "2009-05-12T12:27:12Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Dude - you gave yourself away. Are you a kiwi (or did that ad screen other places I don’t know about?) Madge is a multinational phenomenon. [Australian version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eIRksrDBXM) (with Robina Beard) [U.S. version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzmTtusvjR4) (with Jan Miner) I don’t know which is the original, however. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/98 "2009-05-12T12:59:43Z")
I hate people who kiss their dogs on the mouth, getting slobber everywhere. But I’ll tell you one I thought of this morning that always makes me unpopular; this crass American habit of letting your dogs pee and shit everywhere. I’d say no more than 6 out of 10 people actually pick up their dog’s disgusting doings, and I’m left to walk in it. There are days I _hate_ dogowners, though I couldn’t possibly hate the dog itself. But if you complain, you’re instantly branded as a dog-hater. Of course the doggie pee couldn’t possibly hurt your bushes, even though the stupid mutt pees in the exact same place everyday, and yes it does begin to grow yellow after a while. But you can’t even argue for it. I’ve taken to profusely thanking everyone I do see picking up their dog poo, in hopes that the positive reinforcement will help. I still can’t help the peeing thing. I wonder what they would do if I went over to their yard and peed in the middle. No good? Then why the fuck is it OK with your stupid mutt? Grr. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/99 "2009-05-12T13:15:32Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > But if you complain, you’re instantly branded as a dog-hater. Maybe it is because you reserved your insults (“stupid mutt”, twice) when you are actually angry with the owner. It is clear you have issues with more than thoughtless pet owners. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748/100 "2009-05-12T13:26:47Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Maybe it is because you reserved your insults (“stupid mutt”, twice) when you are actually angry with the owner. It is clear you have issues with more than thoughtless pet owners. No, I really love dogs, though I never, ever want to own one. I have owned dogs twice in my life, just a lot of maintenance and work in it. Just lately I’ve been getting really peeved over it because I am trying to maintain a nice lawn and home. I rent a house, so it feels more important to me - I don’t want to be known as the asshole renters who can’t be arsed to keep their area clean. It just astounds me, the sheer rudeness of letting it happen. All of my coworkers have dogs and I keep a bag of doggie treats in my desk for when they come to visit…but my coworkers make sure the dogs are well-behaved and don’t jump on people and don’t piddle in the office, so I’m Ok with that. 🙂 Really, I don’t hate dogs. Oh…one more thing. Over in the “minor things that annoy you” thread, there is a person who is complaining that this woman walking by, after her dog poos, she picks it up and flings it into his yard. :eek: I’d take dog poo in my yard every day to avoid the flinginess! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-un-pc-thread-the-most-unhygienic-custom-you-can-think-of/495748.md?page=6)