It's a staple of the modern morning routine: Wake up, hop in the shower, lather with soap.
But is that morning scrub-a-dub really necessary?
One man claims not. David Whitlock, a chemical engineer in Boston, has not showered for 12 years.
Whitlock isn't running an experiment in extreme water conservation. Rather, he believes that humans don't need to shower to be healthy, and that a daily soap scrub may actually remove a beneficial type of bacteria that keeps the bacteria that contribute to B.O. in check.
To boost the presence of odor-eating bacteria, Whitlock has designed a bacterial spray called AO+ Mist, which is now sold by the company AoBiome under the brand Mother Dirt. The company hopes this bacterial spritz could reduce the need for products such as soaps and deodorants and potentially even reduce or eliminate the need for showering for those so inclined.
His theory is that your skin will control odor-producing bacteria if left to its own devices, and that soap kills off good bacteria your skin needs.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Sunday November 08 2015, @08:43PM
Spoken like a true urbanite. It's not so simple to bathe in a river or lake. There's freezing weather, floods, crocodiles, piranhas, moccasins, leeches, mosquitoes, and mud, muck and poop and disease. People mostly stayed out of rivers, a bath wasn't worth the trouble.
Ask why humans have gone to great efforts to stay out of the water. Why build bridges? Why row a boat, why not swim with flippers and tow a boat behind you?