# Bathing: Just As Important As Studying **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536 "2004-12-13T02:32:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/21 "2004-12-13T14:06:33Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > Freakin’ babies. > > I have to wait for someone in my cardboard city to cry, then rub myself up against their cheeks to get a shower. Do you know how long that shit takes? > > Goddamn whippersnappers have no idea how good they’ve got it. > > E. At least you have cardboard. We had to stand in the weather with naught but a hanky over our heads. We cleaned off by rubbing snow over us until it melted. ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/22 "2004-12-13T17:29:35Z")
We dreamed of having snow. We had to borrow a rusty cheese grater from the local tax man when we wanted to clean ourselves. If we left it dirty he would allow the local power station to use our home for nuclear waste disposal. And when I say home I mean where we lived, which was the input vat of the local sewage waste treatment plant. Lucky. Lucky, you were. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/23 "2004-12-13T17:41:03Z")
It’s also possible that these kids are bathing, but not doing their laundry. You can take as many showers as you like, but if you’re wearing dirty clothes, you’re gonna stink. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/24 "2004-12-13T17:53:32Z")
Every year during the schools’ Easter vacation, in the town of Hamar, southeastern Norway, the former Olympic speed skating hall plays host to what may just be the world’s largest LAN party. 5000 young computer geeks gather with their toys for four days, to play games, meet friends, download files of varying degrees of questionableness, and swap viruses. Not just computer viruses, either, it seems; every year somebody gets sick enough to be sent home. This may help to explain why: there are about nine boys present to every girl. And yet, last year, the girls’ toilets and shower rooms had to be restocked with soap and paper towels. Not the boys’ :eek: I’ve been told that by the end of the weekend, the entire hall has an odor somewhere between “musky” and “ripe”… ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/25 "2004-12-14T00:28:59Z")
I can gladly say it seems most of the students in my section have not given up bathing for more study time. Thank goodness, reading this I thought I’d keel over in the middle of the exam from the stench… ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/26 "2004-12-14T00:36:31Z")
Eh, I can forgive. Exam season makes it hard to even get out of my pyjamas, much less pay attention to hygiene. It’s a good thing that baths are my relaxing outlet, otherwise I’m certain I’d stink to high hell. Also funny - the number of males on campus with beards during exam season is at least triple of during the normal year. I’m told it’s not only laziness, but also the equivalent of a “game beard”. Or maybe that just us crazy hockey-loving Montrealers. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/27 "2004-12-14T01:46:44Z")
Well, I am sporting the exam beard, having not shaved for a month. I do it because all my friends do it. And they do it because we’re all engineers. One more week and I get to shave. Can’t wait… ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/28 "2004-12-14T01:51:13Z")
Since the OP characterizes this as a student problem, I wonder if it has any relevance to why [this OP](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=291619) thought the same about Magic: the Gathering players? ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/29 "2004-12-14T13:52:35Z")
> [@InvidiousCourgette](#): > > We dreamed of having snow. We had to borrow a rusty cheese grater from the local tax man when we wanted to clean ourselves. If we left it dirty he would allow the local power station to use our home for nuclear waste disposal. And when I say home I mean where we lived, which was the input vat of the local sewage waste treatment plant. Lucky. Lucky, you were. Well don’t you have it fancy, Mr. Park Avenue? Some of us have to clean ourselves by rubbing our bodies with broken glass. You just hope you get a good pile that a homeless guy hasn’t pissed on yet. And man, we get into knife fights over who gets the good broken glass. And you know what? We like it that way! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/30 "2004-12-14T15:10:25Z")
This is hilarious. There are two completely seperate conversations going on here. Carry on, guys. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/31 "2004-12-14T15:29:33Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Just to add a recent sidebar: > > In some news program, sorry no cite, was maybe 3 months ago, They studied BO, and what was interesting is that certain people can’t smell certain other people (or think that the smell is plesent). Basically the conclusion is this is how we are suppose to selecte a mate. If the person stinks as you perceive it you will not select them, but the person next to you may not notice it. I think that might be the same program I saw. If someone’s BO is really offensive to you, you may too similar genetically. I have one sister who really stinks. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/32 "2004-12-14T18:31:37Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Well don’t you have it fancy, Mr. Park Avenue? Some of us have to clean ourselves by rubbing our bodies with broken glass. You just hope you get a good pile that a homeless guy hasn’t pissed on yet. And man, we get into knife fights over who gets the good broken glass. And you know what? We like it that way! Well we had it rough. We cleaned ourselves by stabbing each other with pointed sticks. We’d then rub dog hair into the wounds then rinse off with a gallon of anthrax. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/33 "2004-12-14T18:41:01Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Well we had it rough. We cleaned ourselves by stabbing each other with pointed sticks. We’d then rub dog hair into the wounds then rinse off with a gallon of anthrax. You had anthrax? You were lucky. When I was a kid we had to clean ourselves by chewing off our own dirty skin and wait for clean skin to grow back. And if we didn’t do it right, Dad would beat us. And we were happy! ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/34 "2004-12-14T18:43:18Z")
> [@LaurAnge](#): > > Also funny - the number of males on campus with beards during exam season is at least triple of during the normal year. I’m told it’s not only laziness, but also the equivalent of a “game beard”. Or maybe that just us crazy hockey-loving Montrealers. _::absently scratches his exam beard::_ No, not just crazy hockey-loving Montrealers. 'Course around here it’s the “hunting beard” whether you hunt or not. Also good for football, as hockey isn’t nearly popular enough down here. Midwinter laziness, and it’s not even technically winter yet. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/35 "2004-12-14T18:54:41Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Well we had it rough. We cleaned ourselves by stabbing each other with pointed sticks. We’d then rub dog hair into the wounds then rinse off with a gallon of anthrax. Geez, what’s the big deal? I just roll around in the sand to get rid of the fleas. You really don’t have to work that hard. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/36 "2004-12-14T20:37:43Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > This is hilarious. There are two completely seperate conversations going on here. > > Carry on, guys. This is your thread. \ This is your thread on Monty Python recitations. \ Any questions? ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/37 "2004-12-14T21:02:16Z")
> [@cricetus](#): > > I chewed through my neigbor’s cable line and hacked into it with this old Vic 20 I got out of dumster and dragged into my hole. PRICELESS! 😛 You win, cricetus! Here’s a nice rock so you have something to sit on inside your hole 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/38 "2004-12-14T21:10:33Z")
A baseball cap and a breathmint are acceptable substitutes for proper grooming at any time during the college year- in much the same way that in college ramen noodles and 12c tacos become acceptable substitutes for a balanced diet. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/39 "2004-12-14T21:16:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You had anthrax? You were lucky. When I was a kid we had to clean ourselves by chewing off our own dirty skin and wait for clean skin to grow back. And if we didn’t do it right, Dad would beat us. Luxury. All our teeth had fallen out, so we couldn’t chew our skin off. We lived for three years in a sludge strainer downstream of a rendering plant. The only way we could get clean was to wait until the rendering plant ran a load of entrails through the system, and allow the digestive juices to eat the filth off our skin. You try telling that to the young people of today, and they won’t believe you. ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536/40 "2004-12-15T00:10:39Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > A baseball cap and a breathmint are acceptable substitutes for proper grooming at any time during the college year- in much the same way that in college ramen noodles and 12c tacos become acceptable substitutes for a balanced diet. Oh, I have to disagree. Even if you can’t afford shampoo or soap, even a quick jump under the hot water will… disinfect… I’ll spend a weekend in pajamas, sure. But I’ll shower and get right back into pajamas… every day… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathing-just-as-important-as-studying/279536.md?page=1)