Title
Clean: A History Of Personal Hygiene And Purity
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In This Pioneering Book, Virginia Smith Combines Archeology, Psychology, Biology, And Sociology To Reveal How And Why Standards Of Cleanliness Have Come To Exist Today. Using Hundreds Of Firsthand Accounts And Sources, Smith Bring Us From The Neolithic Age To The Present, Peppering Her Engaging Prose With Enlightening And Often Surprising Details.Subconscious Cleanliness Has Been With Us Since The First Cell Ejected A Foreign Invader. Even At The Earliest Stages Of Human Development, Our Bodies Produced Pleasuregiving Chemical Opiates When Things Smelled Or Felt Clean, Inducing Us To Do Things Like Bathing And Removing Dirty Clothes. The Need To Be Clean Led Directly To Socialization, As We Turned To Our Fellows For Help With Those Hard To Reach Spots. In Eurasia During The Bronze Age, An Emerging Hierarchy Of Wealthy Elites Turned Their Love Of Grooming Into An Explosion Of The Cosmetic And Luxury Goods Industry, Greatly Effecting The Culture And Economy Of A Vast Area And Leading To Advances In Chemistry And Medicine.The History That Follows, From Greece And Rome, Where Citizens Focused Much Of Their Leisure Time On Perfecting, Bathing, Or Just Writing About The Model Athletic Body, Through Europe In The Middle Ages And The Following Centuries, Is Full Of Intriguing Customs, Convoluted Treatises, And Many Reversals. Baths Were Good For You, Baths Were Bad For You, Baths Were Good Againbut Only If They Were Quite Cold. Even The Enlightened Medical Knowledge Of Modern Times Could Not Stop An Onslaught Of Health Remedies, Treatments, Spas, And New Age Nature Cures That Were To Follow. While Today We Are Immeasurably Closerperhaps Too Closeto Knowing Just What Clean Means To Our Bodies, We Are Still Just As Far As We Ever Were On Agreeing What It Means To Our Souls.This Engrossing And Highly Original Work Will Introduce You To The Customs And Ideas Of A Myriad Of Cultures From Centuries Of Human History. Not Only Will You Gain A New Perspective On The Wonderful Diversity Of The World, But You'Ll Never Look At Your Toothbrush The Same Way Again.
⚠️ WARNING (California Proposition 65):
This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
- Q: What is the main theme of 'Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity'? A: The main theme of the book is the evolution of personal hygiene and cleanliness standards throughout history, exploring how cultural, psychological, and biological factors have shaped our understanding of cleanliness.
- Q: Who is the author of this book? A: The author of 'Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity' is Virginia Smith.
- Q: How many pages does the book have? A: The book consists of 468 pages.
- Q: What type of binding does this book have? A: This book is available in hardcover binding.
- Q: When was 'Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity' published? A: The book was published on May 24, 2007.
- Q: What can readers expect to learn from this book? A: Readers can expect to learn about the historical perspectives on cleanliness, the impact of social norms on hygiene practices, and how these practices have evolved from ancient times to modern society.
- Q: Is there any specific cultural focus in the book? A: Yes, the book discusses various cultures and their unique customs regarding hygiene and cleanliness throughout different historical periods.
- Q: Does the book include any personal accounts or anecdotes? A: Yes, Virginia Smith incorporates hundreds of first-hand accounts and sources to illustrate the historical practices of cleanliness.
- Q: What genres does this book fall under? A: The book falls under the genres of history, sociology, and cultural studies.
- Q: Is 'Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity' suitable for academic research? A: Yes, the book is well-researched and provides insights that can be valuable for academic studies in history and sociology.