bathtubs and showers .. or not
OCTOBER 27, 2007 (SATURDAY) – The weekend is here again. Dear reader, whoever and wherever you are, I hope today is a great day for you.
The word, “Saturday,” has come to us from several sources, including astronomy and religion. In Scandinavian countries the day has an entirely different name, coming from the Viking age, and the word for this day comes from a word which means “bath day.”
The Saturday bath was common before people had bathtubs and showers inside the house.
Brings to mind a song by Bobby Darin:
“Splish splash, I was taking a bath
Long about a Saturday night
A rub dub, just relaxing in the tub
Thinking everything was alright..”
Here’s a cute site about the Saturday Night Bath:
http://susie1114.com/Bathtime.htm
(Home page of Susie Q’s World is http://susie1114.com/)
Nowadays how do people bathe and how often? My guess is that most people shower every day. Many, however, prefer the tub bath, and some opt to bathe less often. Health problems and disabilities may call for other methods and different schedules. Other forms of bathing, such as swimming, saunas, whirlpools have additional purposes other than cleaning up. In other places and in other times, public baths were a part of the culture. The more one studies this subject, the greater diversity he finds.
There was a time when people bathed very seldom, if at all. Makes you think of Eliza Doolittle of “Pygmalion” and “My Fair Lady” fame, when she was forced to take a bath:
“Dirty? I washed my face
and hands before I come, I did!
It ain’t natural!
I’ve never had a bath in me life!”
Carson Robison wrote “Life Gets Teejus, Don’t It?” and in it was a verse about bathing:
“The water in the well gets lower and lower,
Ain’t had a bath in a month or more.
I’ve heard it said and I’m sure it’s true
That too much bathin’ will weaken you.”
Read the whole poem if you like:
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiTEEJUS.html
Relax and enjoy your bath today.
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