tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post2222150649499218700..comments2023-10-20T11:17:47.246-04:00Comments on Two Nerdy History Girls: Annals of Bathing: Episode 2Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-30936881381213973812009-10-07T19:17:56.610-04:002009-10-07T19:17:56.610-04:00Byron was particular about his tooth powder, and h...Byron was particular about his tooth powder, and had it sent from London to Venice. IIRC, on his 30th birthday, assessing his state, he reported having most of his teeth. I certainly know of members of the WWII generation who had false teeth by the time they were in their 30s, so I guess he was doing all right.Loretta Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02170060214285828433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-44894407105005371142009-10-07T18:40:17.990-04:002009-10-07T18:40:17.990-04:00Thank you so much for answering my question, TNHG....Thank you so much for answering my question, TNHG. This week is fascinating!Liznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-86478018848801038992009-10-07T17:31:16.090-04:002009-10-07T17:31:16.090-04:00Ingrid, in my 16th-18th century fantasy, no, I do ...Ingrid, in my 16th-18th century fantasy, no, I do not have fleas and lice...only my potentially horrid husband does. I am, of course, 21st-century pristine. :)<br /><br />The dental thing hadn't even occurred to me. Ugh<br /><br />Do you think we'll get progressively cleaner? Will we live in antispetic personal bubbles one day? *g*Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-19878311244021416142009-10-07T17:02:37.230-04:002009-10-07T17:02:37.230-04:00Ingrid, I can't imagine the dental disasters, ...Ingrid, I can't imagine the dental disasters, either. Not only was a trip to the tooth-drawer the only lasting answer to toothache, but because of limited diets and a lot of alcohol (for nearly everyone, even children, drank at least small beer as a safer alternative to water), there probably weren't too many people with a full set of teeth in their mouths. By the 18th c., there were toothbrushes and those recipe books include mouth washes to preserve the teeth, but it's still pretty rudimentary. Though good teeth, too, are a fairly recent idea. My grandmothers' generation all assumed they'd end up wearing dentures, while my kids have no cavities. That's progress! *g*Isabella Bradford/Susan Holloway Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997375216314200469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-38920828034976321342009-10-07T16:52:41.901-04:002009-10-07T16:52:41.901-04:00Christine, I'm sorry about the fleas and lice!...Christine, I'm sorry about the fleas and lice! *g* But just because not everyone took full baths doesn't mean they weren't clean; they just might not have been clean by 21st c. super-clean standards. Most people of the middling sort and above were just as horrified by lice and fleas as we are now. <br /><br />After all, while most teenaged girls today will wash their hair at least once a day, and sometimes twice, many of their grandmothers' generation still are going to the beauty shop for a wash and set only once a week. It's all relative....:)Isabella Bradford/Susan Holloway Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997375216314200469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-18403112229240348062009-10-07T10:13:14.038-04:002009-10-07T10:13:14.038-04:00You don't imagine the flies and the lice as be...You don't imagine the flies and the lice as being mutual, Christine? <br /><br />What horrifies me most is the thought of tooth decay and the accompanying bad breath, which must have been prevalent before modern dentistry.Ingridnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-26459564811508952582009-10-07T09:55:35.713-04:002009-10-07T09:55:35.713-04:00So, do you think that bathing was restricted to sp...So, do you think that bathing was restricted to special occasions? In other words, would the average person have at least bathed for his own wedding? My 21st century mind is trying to wrap itself around the idea of standing at the altar with someone who has flies buzzing around his head and fleas jumping onto my dress. Blech.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com