5 Weird Facts about Washing
old Blog- Monks who belong to an Indian religion called Jainism are forbidden to wash any body parts except hands and feet. Why? Doing so might harm bacteria and other microscopic organisms. Jains hold all life sacred.
- According to legend, soap takes its name from Mount Sapo, a fictional mountain outside Rome. On this mountain, ancient people would burn the bodies of animals as offerings to the gods. Fat from the animals mixed with ash from the fires and seeped into the river below. People who washed their clothes in the river discovered that the mixture made their laundry cleaner!
- According to a study from the University of Arizona, the objects covered with the most germs in American hospital rooms are television remote controls.
- Today, doctors are required to sterilize their hands before performing their duties. But in the 19th century, American doctor Charles Meigs fought against this practice. He claimed that doctors were gentlemen, and “gentlemen’s hands are clean.”
- In 1881, U.S. President James A. Garfield was struck by an assassin’s bullet and died several months later. Modern researchers believe he wasn’t killed by the gunshot. Most likely, he died from an infection caused by his doctor’s unwashed hands.