Taking Too Many Showers Was Considered Unhealthy
You may be surprised to hear that western folks believed that bathing too much could be unhealthy and lead to illnesses. The theories were that if you were “too clean,” your pores were “too open,” allowing bacteria and diseases to enter your body. Sure, a little dirt can help improve your immune system, but that certainly doesn’t mean that there are health dangers linked to daily showers.
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As we previously stated, since clean water wasn’t easily obtainable and relied on the rain, many people didn’t even have the option of bathing regularly. Their theories obviously turned out to be wrong. After not showering and wearing the same dirty clothes for days on end, cowboys suffered major consequences in the form of fungal infections.