MYTH BUSTED! Everyone Was Dirty & No One Washed "Back Then" (Ft. Historian Hilary Davidson)

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“Every time I come across a comment or mention of how horribly people must have smelled in history, there’s a little piece of my brain that error: 404s at this. While it’s not a subject I’ve ever specifically looked into at great depth, I’ve always had immense difficulty wrapping my head around the notion that humans of the past were so vastly different from us today to the point where body odor—an olfactory offence so instinctually repulsive to most of us today—would have been acceptable or even normal at any point in history. My own research has continually pointed out hilarious little examples of past humans behaving fundamentally relatably to us today…

So, what gives?

I was having tea with my amazing colleague Hilary Davidson a few weeks ago when she mentioned how, ‘I’ve been fascinated with the history of armpits’ (perfectly ordinary conversation). Immediately I had to invite her onto the channel to share her findings on this topic so we could explore the realities (and practical illogicalities) of the ‘everyone stank back then’ myth. And thus this video came into being.

I hope it will offer some insight into the historical realities of washing and laundry habits in pre-shower times—or will at least prove something entertaining by way of Two Nerds Being Nerds.”

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