# Hypothetical Underpants Scenario **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220 "2010-09-27T14:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/21 "2010-09-28T02:53:56Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Why would anyone want to tote around so much more than they need? I am the Queen of Overpacking. There is always a way to justify one more outfit and a couple spare sets of underwear. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/22 "2010-09-28T03:16:51Z")
OK, I’ll admit I’m weird that way, but if I were to hand-wash my dirty underwear, that means I would have to put my hands on my dirty underwear, and the only time I do that is to take my dirty underwear off and put in the plastic bag that I carry all the way back to my point of origin, at which point I dump them into the washing machine. So nix on the hand-washing then. No one said it had to make sense. So, anyway, if I run out on the road, it’s off to the nearest shop to buy some more. So far, fortunately, I haven’t run out of clean underwear in northern Tibet, or someplace else where that option may be limited. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/23 "2010-09-28T03:19:45Z")
Underwear takes up such little room I always pack double what I need just in case but I usually only pack enough regular clothes for a few days and do laundry, so I would wash or as a last resort buy more. I buy packaged underwear and will only buy it if it’s still sealed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/24 "2010-09-28T03:32:19Z")
Most of the extended travel I do is to visit my mom or other family, so it’s not difficult at all to find laundry facilities. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/25 "2010-09-28T03:55:16Z")
Voted other, because there was no ??? Profit! option. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/26 "2010-09-28T04:00:54Z")
I do this when travelling anyway - only take a few pairs regardless of length of trip. I wash it in the shower in the morning and hang it up to dry. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/27 "2010-09-28T05:20:04Z")
laundry ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/28 "2010-09-28T08:35:29Z")
I always pack more underwear than I think I’ll need. If I ran out I’d just wash them in the sink. Whether I would need to wash all my clothes would depend on the weather and the clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/29 "2010-09-28T14:51:12Z")
I always pack double the underwear I need, too. As others have said, it takes up such little room. I don’t overpack and can pack quite efficiently, but I see nothing particularly admirable in underpacking, either. But I’d probably buy some more. I do know how to handwash my own undies, and have done it in the past, but I don’t like doing it, and you can never have too many undies. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/30 "2010-09-28T16:43:39Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Just wear 'em again. My balls don’t sweat enough for me to worry about it. Yeah, I’d just wear them again or go without. I’m not sure what the big deal is about wearing a pair of underwear for two days. Are you supposed to suffer jungle rot? Or do stink lines follow you around like a cartoon skunk? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/31 "2010-09-28T17:03:51Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > I’m very particular about my undies and since I have to launder my others clothes anyway, I went with laundering. Or as suggested in another thread, I could wear panty liners and get two days out of each pair. Probably my suggestion, and I voted “other” here so I could elaborate with that suggestion \ for the lay-dies. \ ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/32 "2010-09-28T17:08:11Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > > [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > > > Just wear 'em again. My balls don’t sweat enough for me to worry about it. > > Yeah, I’d just wear them again or go without. I’m not sure what the big deal is about wearing a pair of underwear for two days. Are you supposed to suffer jungle rot? Or do stink lines follow you around like a cartoon skunk? Guys might be able to get away with it. Girls generally can’t. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/33 "2010-09-28T21:16:42Z")
I travel with small packettes of laundry detergent I get from minimus. I can and will do laundry. You can hang the undies all over the room until they dry. I use microfiber undies that air dry fast. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/34 "2010-09-28T21:52:47Z")
I call band name rights on the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/35 "2010-09-28T22:26:19Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Guys might be able to get away with it. Girls generally can’t. Because of the jungle rot or the cartoon stink lines? ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/36 "2010-09-28T22:43:37Z")
Assuming I’m not visiting a private home (relatives or friends), I’d just buy more. I wouldn’t go to a laundromat in a strange town, and laundering in a hotel sink leaves the problem of clothes not drying quickly enough plus drying “hard” when they do dry. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/37 "2010-09-30T02:00:50Z")
This has happened to me before under many different circumstances, and laundering them has always been the easiest/most effective solution. Between a host’s house, laundromats, hotel laundry service, and (if you’re in Europe) the ol’ bidet + shampoo + towel rack method, you have lots of options. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/38 "2010-09-30T13:35:29Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > > [@Anaamika](#): > > > > Guys might be able to get away with it. Girls generally can’t. > > Because of the jungle rot or the cartoon stink lines? Heh. Cartoon stink lines all the way! I was thinking about this thread this morning, don’t ask why. It’s not that I haven’t done it before, when I was younger, or even gone without - it’s not like some horribly gross stuff happens. I have just gotten a lot more fastidious as I have grown older. Also, I just hate handwashing clothes, if only because I had to do it often in India, and it just seems so peasant. 🙂 Yes, I am being all snooty and shit. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/39 "2010-09-30T18:03:42Z")
I always pack more underwear than I need, because depending on what I’m doing, sometimes I change every day and sometimes I change every two or three days. There’s been days I’ve changed twice a day. If I absolutely ran out? I’d wash them or do without. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/40 "2010-09-30T22:02:17Z")
Unless it’s been a really sweaty day, I would rather re-wear dirty underwear than put on new ones that haven’t been washed yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220.md?page=3)