TMI

[desh]

OK, yeah, I'm actually curious. And it's been way too long since my last poll.

[Poll #1462446]
(If you take baths often enough that they affect the average, please feel free to count them as well.)

I read once that the average is 8 for men, 9 for women. I think most of my friends are around 4-5. Full disclosure: I'm at 6. Poll prompted in part by this advice column question and answer.

EDIT: Most interesting thing about these results so far, assuming I'm correct on my friends' gender identities, is that 35% of the men (5/14) shower over once a week, but only 5% (1/20) of the women do. And the rest of the data also skew way higher for men (mean of 7.1 vs. 5.1, with a std dev of 1.9 for each group). Clearly what I heard previously about the average being higher for women is way off among my friends.

Comments

[metalphoenix.livejournal.com]

AVERAGE is higher than once a day? I've don't think I've met anyone who showers more than once a day often. If they've done a particularly sweaty activity, maybe. But for the average to be above once a day, some people have to be showering way more. Odd. I guess also it depends on when you shower. If most people shower in the morning, they may feel dirty more often after the day is done and go for another. I tend to shower only at night.

This obviously is a far more interesting topic than I first thought! Haha ^_^

[desh]

I don't know where I read that; it could have been way off. But yeah, I could see getting to 8 or 9 if I worked out a lot more than I do, or played sports, or had a blue-collar job, or whatever; but otherwise it seems nuts as a way of getting clean. (Standing under the water for 5 minutes to wake up, on the other hand, makes a lot more sense.)

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

I could see it, for people who who have the wake-up shower ritual going on. They get a minimum shower total of 7/week, and if they go to the gym, or a pool, or do yardwork during the day, that can only bump it from there.

It's funny, because my first reaction was "Nine showers a week? No human being could survive that level of cleanliness!" Then I realized my GF showers when she gets up, every morning, like clockwork, and sometimes feels the need to grab another in the evening as well. QED, and it was right under my nose.

As a fellow night-showerer, the number seemed ridiculous to me at first, too. But, hell, one of the reasons I shower when I go to bed is that I feel more dirty after the day is through than before. That morning shower seems wasteful unless you're a sweaty sleeper.