25 Incredibly Gross And Surprising Hygiene Practices From History

Since the beginning of time people have tried to stay clean (which is probably why our cleaning hack list has been so popular). Of course, this meant different things at different times. For example not every culture had sinks or bathtubs. What’s worse, not long ago the world didn’t even know about germs or infections (so they took some liberties that today we frown upon). Things that we take for granted today, like showers, hand washing, toilets, trash cans, and sewers looked radically different and indoor plumbing was practically non-existent (for some cultures). People couldn’t just use the bathroom in the house and flush out the waste. If they lived in the countryside they would have to go outdoors and cover up the waste somehow. The exact methods varied from culture to culture but things like toilet paper and running water certainly weren’t part of the solution. If they lived in the city, they couldn’t even go in the woods. They had to do their business in a bedpan that they kept-big surprise-under the bed. In the morning the bed pan had to be emptied, but you couldn’t just empty it in the house (no sewer system remember?), it went to the only logical place left…the street. That’s right, if you lived in London hundreds of years ago you would have human excrement being flung out of windows early in the morning. At any rate, you are about to see how hygiene has changed over the centuries. These are 25 incredibly gross and surprising hygiene practices from history.

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I'm glad we don't adhere to these gross hygiene practices anymore, Ew!

Changing clothes
Preparations for birth
Blood letting
Wigs with unwelcome guests
An unusual face cleanser
A cure for baldness
Bath time (nope time)
Keeping your potty issues near you
Help wiping
Tooth paste with brain power
antiseptic ew!
That is NOT a bed decoration
Waste, waste everywhere.
Clothe detergent grossness
Surgery and pee
and more

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[Plague_Doc]

Ah yes..this takes me back. We were quite weird back then.

[Sunhawkajj]

In Ancient India washing was essential and the water for washing was usually mixed with turmeric, which just happens to be a natural antiseptic. :) In Japan Baths were an important aspect of culture and you had to wash before entering a communal bath. So this is very much a list of European practices.

[ysabellcourtney]

U r so good at these videos!! More people need to watch u!!

[LordSandwichII]

15: 2:45 Actually, that does make some sense, since urine is sterile and contains ammonia, which is still used as a disinfectant today!

[basicnpcc]

On the internet nobody knows i'm a lamppost.

[KBDProductionsTV]

Frocks? lol nice one Micheal :D
I'll try the Chicken dropping! lol

[pyromaniac]

Kings were so rich they could afford to pay someone to wipe their own ass

[Pinkalicious]

Super duper interesting, I enjoyed this video

[deathstripe]

25 Incredibly Gross And Surprising Hygiene Practices From History

Thumbnail is someone washing their hands

[ZiggyWhiskerz]

actually by the time the victorian era came around. it was taboo for women to wear makeup. it was reserved for whores only, was the thought. the lead powder/face paint was waaaay before then. now thats not to say that it WAS used from time to time, but it was extremely uncommon in the victorian era.

[coweatsman]

The humble leech is making a come back in medicine used for healing after microsurgery.

[openureyes]

Ahhh.. Those were the days. !! Brings me back.

[jannisares]

Motes were used as a dump for the castle but it was also designed for invasion defence. The water served to drown any enemy who is trying to invade the castle by knocking the enemy into the water. Because they wore pounds of armor on as well as boots, these factors caused the soldiers to sink. Even if they could swim well enough to survive the water there was so much disgusting mystery matter to make anyone get infection on any wounds the soldier had. Some motes had alligators to feed on the unfortunate. This sort of fortifications made it very difficult to invade the castle. It's what draw bridges were for.

[Juggernautfitnes]

I love women with freckles I couldn't live back in the days :P

[zooneyl]

Here's one from modern times, in my opinion: using toilet paper to clean the privates, instead of water. TP can be effective and sometimes the only choice, but i think that it only picks some dirt up and smears the rest over the area; water actually removes the dirt. And no it's not gross to use a hand to clean there since you'd wash your hands anyway.

[zaKkyBoY]

Hygiene is very important in Islam, you wash your feet and hands 3-5 times a day, this was practised before and still happens to this day, mainly a non-muslim problem

[vinnylembo]

What was up with these people about piss?

[henrybrar]

who knows what people 500 years from now would think of we. maybe we still doing some wrong.

[masterof]

I will ask however; is there a more eastern version of this list?

[timg]

It should be stated this is almost all during the middle ages in Europe. Rome and even Athens both had significant sewage and clean water systems, and bathing was common.