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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Thematt202 on September 17, 2011, 05:45:16 PM
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Ok, so a friend of mine just got a university summer job in the US. He received his info pack today and one of the sections explains in quite some detail how Americans use deodorant - like it is a foreign concept to the rest of the world! We're English by the way and believe me that EVERYONE here uses perfume/aftershave/deodorant.
So, Americans, do you really think everyone else smells of poop?
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Yes.
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Yes.s
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I thought it was just the french that everyone beieves is smelly.
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your country smells like shit.
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lol it does
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No.
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No.
You sure? Your countrymen seem to be suggesting otherwise!
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Dude, Thematt, put on some damn deodorant man, I can smell you through my computer. :censored
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;D
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Well, I'm not really sure what you're expecting. I don't believe that, and clearly the other americans in this thread don't believe it, but apparently there's some mystic group of 'actual' americans that do.
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Well, I'm not really sure what you're expecting. I don't believe that, and clearly the other americans in this thread don't believe it, but apparently there's some mystic group of 'actual' americans that do.
Those Americans are the ones who haven't learned about other cultures, for whatever reason. They hear stereotypes, such as foreigners smelling badly, and make it seem like it's reality. I know it's not true, but it honestly doesn't baffle me at all that there are people out there who believe in such things.
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Well, I'm not really sure what you're expecting. I don't believe that, and clearly the other americans in this thread don't believe it, but apparently there's some mystic group of 'actual' americans that do.
Those Americans are the ones who haven't learned about other cultures, for whatever reason. They hear stereotypes, such as foreigners smelling badly, and make it seem like it's reality. I know it's not true, but it honestly doesn't baffle me at all that there are people out there who believe in such things.
All of this.
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Of course there's stupid people in America, but there's stupid people everywhere. It's just bizarre that everyone shits over americans for being ignorant and stereotyping while simultaneously stereotyping a country of 300 million+ people.
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Some of the "advice" in that welcome pack was epic! "Did you know that most Americans like to shower at least once per day". Seriously?!?! Like everyone else only showers on their birthday!
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Nah dude, I'm not stereotyping, just sharing a humorous moment from my day. There are people in the UK who are just as ignorant as anywhere else in the civilised world.
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Oh no, I'm trying to shit on you, just speaking generally.
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I've never gotten the impression that we're the only ones to use deodorant, and I've never heard anyone suggest that, ever. So no.
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Besides jokes about the french of course.
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Nah dude, I'm not stereotyping, just sharing a humorous moment from my day. There are people in the UK who are just as ignorant as anywhere else in the civilised world.
That's civiliZed, you limey! >:( :biggrin:
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So, Americans, do you really think everyone else smells of poop?
Not poop, but there are definitely members of certain cultures for whom the smell of an unwashed human body seems to be a wonderful, glorious thing. I work in an office which hires a lot of foreign contract workers, and there are parts of the office I simply avoid. Yes, they fucking smell horrible, and there's no question that it's a cultural thing. If someone sent them a little pamphlet about American standards of hygiene, it would be a good thing.
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Ok, so a friend of mine just got a university summer job in the US. He received his info pack today and one of the sections explains in quite some detail how Americans use deodorant - like it is a foreign concept to the rest of the world! We're English by the way and believe me that EVERYONE here uses perfume/aftershave/deodorant.
So, Americans, do you really think everyone else smells of poop?
Body odor is a common issue in places like universities or offices with international contractors. Different cultures have different hygiene practices. I had Indian friends that were embarrassed because they didn't realize they smelled to the people around them at the office. Info sheets like that are meant to help people understand where they will be living, and the entire world does not use deodorant.
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At the risk of some cultural stereotyping, the pamphlet may have been trying to give the message to the Indian population in the UK. Some of the Indians I've known in grad school and professionally definitely have a different view of what constitutes a "normal" body odor.
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We had an Indian manager, and let me just say that that odor is not one you want in a restaurant.
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Wait.
To the OP: Seriously?!? That happened?
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At the risk of some cultural stereotyping, the pamphlet may have been trying to give the message to the Indian population in the UK. Some of the Indians I've known in grad school and professionally definitely have a different view of what constitutes a "normal" body odor.
That is indeed usually the target audience. In my company we had some extreme cases I have to say, where people rally *did* smell like poop and had to get talked to.
Incidentally I am writing this from India, and seeing the bathroom implements in my hotel room (a big water bucket and a small water buckets), I can kinda imagine what happens when they don't find those things in Western toilets.
rumborak
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I don't get it...if I don't use deoderant, I feel gross. My deoderant lasts a full 24 hours but sometimes if I am changin into pajamas I get paranoid and use it anyway because the fear of smelling gets so bad...so is this post a 'Zomg Americans use deoderant!' way, or a 'Ew Americans don't use deoderant!' way? God I am so confused.
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I rarely smell bad, it's just after having exercised or it's really hot outside.
In those cases, deodorant doesn't even help against sweat or whatever.
Plus, deodorant for every-day use cuts back on the production of natural pheromones - the things that make you smell like you - not like some product.
All that being said, I use deodorant nearly every day... even though there are days where I go without it - and I don't feel bad about it or anything.
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I don't get it...if I don't use deoderant, I feel gross. My deoderant lasts a full 24 hours but sometimes if I am changin into pajamas I get paranoid and use it anyway because the fear of smelling gets so bad...so is this post a 'Zomg Americans use deoderant!' way, or a 'Ew Americans don't use deoderant!' way? God I am so confused.
The OP's friend is going to america for a job, and the company he's going to work for sent him a pamphlet for international employees about America. The pamphlet said thing like "americans use deoderant and shower every day", etc, and the OP thought it was weird that Americans would assume the rest of the world doesn't do those things.
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To be fair, Americans are pretty extreme in their hygiene habits, just as they are with everything else. My sister spent a year in France and discovered (to her horror) that it's true: French people shower once a week, and to them that's perfectly fine. It's whatever you're used to.
I'd bet that most Americans don't actually need to shower every single day. If you use deodorant, or heck, just apply some perfume or cologne every day, you'll smell fine unless you've got some kind of horrible disease that makes you detectable from across the room. Seriously, what the hell are you doing that makes you smell so bad?
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I don't get it...if I don't use deoderant, I feel gross. My deoderant lasts a full 24 hours but sometimes if I am changin into pajamas I get paranoid and use it anyway because the fear of smelling gets so bad...so is this post a 'Zomg Americans use deoderant!' way, or a 'Ew Americans don't use deoderant!' way? God I am so confused.
The OP's friend is going to america for a job, and the company he's going to work for sent him a pamphlet for international employees about America. The pamphlet said thing like "americans use deoderant and shower every day", etc, and the OP thought it was weird that Americans would assume the rest of the world doesn't do those things.
Got it. Well, I guess that is a bit weird. as long as the person doesn't look dirty or isn't smelly I really wouldn't care that much...smell nice, look nice, who cares if they shower every day or not? though I do shower every morning....
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To be fair, Americans are pretty extreme in their hygiene habits, just as they are with everything else. My sister spent a year in France and discovered (to her horror) that it's true: French people shower once a week, and to them that's perfectly fine. It's whatever you're used to.
I'd bet that most Americans don't actually need to shower every single day. If you use deodorant, or heck, just apply some perfume or cologne every day, you'll smell fine unless you've got some kind of horrible disease that makes you detectable from across the room. Seriously, what the hell are you doing that makes you smell so bad?
Smell-wise I agree most people don't need to shower daily. Especially people just sitting in an office. I have such an oily scalp and face that I would need to at least wash my head daily. It's easier just to shower. Plus it wakes me up.
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I'd bet that most Americans don't actually need to shower every single day. If you use deodorant, or heck, just apply some perfume or cologne every day, you'll smell fine unless you've got some kind of horrible disease that makes you detectable from across the room. Seriously, what the hell are you doing that makes you smell so bad?
On the showering issue, I've got thin hair that tends to get greasy easily (mainly while I'm asleep). I can go a day without washing it but after that it starts to feel really matted and bad.
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In my travels, I've noticed that smell usually has to do with diet as much as bathing/hygiene.
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To be fair, Americans are pretty extreme in their hygiene habits, just as they are with everything else. My sister spent a year in France and discovered (to her horror) that it's true: French people shower once a week, and to them that's perfectly fine. It's whatever you're used to.
I'd bet that most Americans don't actually need to shower every single day. If you use deodorant, or heck, just apply some perfume or cologne every day, you'll smell fine unless you've got some kind of horrible disease that makes you detectable from across the room. Seriously, what the hell are you doing that makes you smell so bad?
My wife's family feels I'm lavish in that I shower every day. They let me do it while visiting (China), but it causes problems between them and my wife. Not until my wife lived with me for awhile did she start to understand why I used deodorant and showered every day, now she hates it when I don't do a good enough job. :lol However, especially in winter, she can go a week without shower or deodorants and I can't really tell.
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Back to the topic of showering:
https://www.cracked.com/article_19121_7-basic-things-you-wont-believe-youre-all-doing-wrong.html (https://www.cracked.com/article_19121_7-basic-things-you-wont-believe-youre-all-doing-wrong.html)
Yeah.. it's cracked but whatever:
From a young age, we're taught that the daily use of a hot shower, copious amounts of soap and a scratchy washcloth are necessary to rid ourselves of dangerous microorganisms and the putrid smell of human skin. And if you aren't squeaky-clean, you can forget about dating, career advancement and the promise of a future that doesn't involve dying alone in a den of your own filth.
As it turns out, showering or bathing daily, while it may make us more socially acceptable, wreaks havoc on something hilariously called the horny layer. Hot water, soap and abrasive surfaces strip off the horny layer, exposing living cells to the elements. And although we've just used the words "strip," "exposing" and "horny" in the same sentence, we assure you that this is not the making of a sexy situation. On the contrary, damaging this protective layer of skin makes us more susceptible to disease.
Before recent modern conveniences, people bathed less often, and frequently in the same water. Even nowadays, showering doesn't kill bacteria or other microorganisms, though it does move them around. A colony of bacteria living on your shower wall might move to your leg; a colony from your leg might move to your head; a colony from your groin might even take up residence on your hands. For this reason, surgeons in many hospitals are not allowed to shower right before operating.
Studies have shown that there are no measurable differences in the number of microorganism colonies a person is host to regardless of how frequently that person showers. Of course, using antibacterial soaps can kill microorganisms, though in an effort not to create too many super bacteria, medical experts generally recommend not using these soaps daily.
So how the hell are we meant to do it?
The most important thing to do to keep the skin healthy is to preserve the horny layer. There's no magic number of showers each week, though it's generally agreed that the number would fall somewhat shy of seven. Skipping showers, or, if you'd like a fancy French term, celebrating sans douche days, gives your skin time to repair some of the damage that the last shower caused.
When you shower, use warm or cool water and a mild soap (if at all), and rehydrate the horny layer by rubbing on some moisturizer afterward. Better yet, convince an attractive friend to help with this. Once you've cleaned up, you'll want to make sure you air dry. Ignore protesting roommates or family members and remind them, as you're drip-drying at the breakfast table, that they should be grateful you're showering only a couple of times a week.
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I think most people smell bad anywhere.
Half the time I take a shower, it's not to cleanse myself, but to wake up/feel better.
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two words
sweaty balls
shower daily
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two words
sweaty balls
shower daily
For some reason, I read this as if it was a 90s action film/and or Xtreme PSA :lol
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Ever walk into a 7-11? We go in and can smell the guy on the magic carpet behind the counter glaring at you like you're going to steal a twix's ballsac as soon you walk through the door. This can all be avoided by bathing, shaving and using deoderant.
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two words
sweaty balls
shower daily
This is my only argument for daily showers.
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I still maintain that if you're a normal person leading a normal life, but you're doing something which makes you smell, or (as the case may be) causes your balls to sweat all day, then you're doing it wrong.
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I live in Florida, and currently a drive home in the afternoon is gonna make you sweat some.
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I still maintain that if you're a normal person leading a normal life, but you're doing something which makes you smell, or (as the case may be) causes your balls to sweat all day, then you're doing it wrong.
I don't know, I think a lot of normal people have to move around or do manual labor on a regular basis.
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I think most people smell bad anywhere.
Half the time I take a shower, it's not to cleanse myself, but to wake up/feel better.
this
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I still maintain that if you're a normal person leading a normal life, but you're doing something which makes you smell, or (as the case may be) causes your balls to sweat all day, then you're doing it wrong.
I don't know, I think a lot of normal people have to move around or do manual labor on a regular basis.
Okay, true. I was thinking it's a given that if you work outdoors or move furniture or otherwise perform manual labor, then yeah, you sweat and therefore need to shower/bathe regularly.
Because of the OP and my personal situation (trapped in an office with Indian contractors), I guess I was thinking about students who basically sit on their asses in classrooms, or office workers who spend all day in air-conditioned buildings, yet somehow manage to sweat and stink like a pile of rotting garbage.
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Here in Canada we smear seal blubber on our pits.
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Kinky
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Nah dude, I'm not stereotyping, just sharing a humorous moment from my day. There are people in the UK who are just as ignorant as anywhere else in the civilised world.
That's civiliZed, you limey! >:( :biggrin:
Dude, you got your "s" the wrong way around.
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There are plenty of smelly people in America. I deal with quite a few of them at work.
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There are plenty of smelly people in America. I deal with quite a few of them at work.
The few times I've come in to work with people on 3rd shift (overnight) at my company, there have abeen a few really smelly ones.