A WORLD UNDER THE SHOWER
The American magazine The Atlantic published an article on the world’s attitude regarding personal hygiene and in doing so “unrobed” humans’ relationship with the shower. The researchers studied sixteen macro areas and looked at not only humans’ relationships to cleaning their bodies, but also at their very relationship with the shower. Women on average spend 73.39 minutes in the bathroom each day while men spend on average 67.08 minutes. Forty-seven percent of individuals shower in the morning and only 28% in the evening.
And then there is a question that may seem absurd, yet at the same time very interesting: why do we wash ourselves? Obviously for cleanliness and to refresh ourselves during the hottest months. But there is more. More than fifty percent of those interviewed underlined showering’s relaxing effect, one that our psyches recognise and need. For fourteen percent, water running over them combined with the alone time help stimulate ideas, transforming the shower into a mental refuge where anxiety is defeated and new ideas are born.
E poi cos’altro stimola la doccia? La socializzazione! In California da vent’anni il bagno è stato trasformato in un luogo di socializzazione, anche grazie alla diffusione dell’idromassaggio. Una pratica diffusa da secoli quella del lavarsi in compagnia, basti pensare alle stazioni termali o alle saune. In Corea e Giappone esistono addirittura i bagni collettivi, ovvero grandi vasche, divise per sesso, dove dopo il lavoro ci si rilassa nudi in ammollo con una birra gelata in mano.
Per quando riguarda la passione per la doccia in cima alla classifica c’è il Brasile: in media 12 docce alla settimana per i carioca seguiti da Colombia, Messico, Medio Oriente, Indonesia e India. Insomma più salgono le temperature più lo scroscio dell’acqua ha un richiamo irresistibile visto che questi Paesi hanno messo dietro realtà dove si fa molto per la promozione dell’igiene come gli Stati Uniti, l’ Europa occidentale, la Russia e persino il Giappone (meno di 5 docce settimanali).
So what else does showering stimulate? Socialization! For over twenty years in California showering has been transformed into a place to socialize, thanks to the prevalence of thermal baths. Bathing oneself in the company of others has been a centuries-long practice, as evidenced by communal thermal baths and saunas. In Korea and Japan shared baths are commonplace, which are divided by sex. Here locals head to the baths after work to relax, naked, with a cold beer in hand. As for the world’s greatest passion around showers, there is Brazil, where on average citizens shower 12 times per week, followed by Colombia, Mexico, the far East, Indonesia, and India. Essentially the higher the temperatures, the more pounding water calls to you. Consider that countries like the United States, European nations, Russia, and Japan average five showers per week.