(thing) by Ulumuri Wed Nov 21 2001 at 4:40:46
Some Interesting Bath Facts:
  • Baths were reputedly invented by King Minos of Crete. Minos built a huge bath and had clay pipes made to transport water to the tub.
  • The Greeks took short, cold baths after exercising (their bathhouses were next to the gymnasium). The Romans on the other hand, took long, hot baths in which they would talk to others. They took baths in seawater. This is the order of a Roaman bath:
    1. The bather would exercise a bit to work up a sweat.
    2. The bather would enter the second room, and be rubbed with oils by slaves.
    3. Then he would enter a hotter room, where he would relax in hot water and sweat some more.
    4. He would then enter a very hot room, in which a slave would pour cold water over him.
    5. Finally he would jump into an ice-cold bath.

    The average Roman consumed about 300 gallons per bath.

  • In Europe, after the fall of the Roman Empire, baths were banned intil 1095, when Pope Gregory allowed them again. However, for much of tge Middle Ages, people masked their dirtiness by wearing perfumes. Hand washing was important because many people ate with their hands.
  • Public bath houses were built in London in the late 19th Century. It was around this time that people began to realise that baths helped prevent disease. Public laundries were built next door so people could use leftover water to wash their clothes.
  • Average Americans spend 11 minutes in a shower and 20 minutes in a bath.

I like it!