How many of you remember that wonderful scene in the movie "10"? George Webber (played by Dudley Moore) is talking to the minister who married the young couple (George is trying to find the impossibly beautiful bride he has become obsessed with) and the minister's very elderly housekeeper staggers out with the tea tray. She's clearly no longer up to the task. Then the old lady breaks wind very loudly. You can see Dudley Moore's eyes begin to water. The large dog in the room yelps and runs outside. The minister leans forward and says softly, "She's old, poor thing, and deaf, she doesn't know it's her. So when she breaks wind, we beat the dog."
Back in my uni days, we often had to "go bush" as part of a practical exercise. The conditions were primitive. We would arrive in camp and the lecturers would work to set up the water pump that took water from the creek and pumped it to the showers. There were cows upstream, and I knew that the water in those showers (cold water only, in early spring) would only be rearranging the E.coli. We also had some tasks which required us to get into the lake and the ocean (COLD!) but it was a healthier washing opportunity. So I spent the week staying dirty, pretty much. I wore my army camouflage gear the whole time, didn't bother to change (no point) and didn't even strip at bedtime. it was so cold I just climbed into my sleeping bag liner (a pink flannelette nightie with velcro fastener along the bottom hem) over the top of my army gear. During the day I had my equipment belt on with water bottles (from the rainwater tank - safe to drink, unlike the creek) and my utility knife (not legal, these days).
I wasn't the only one not showering; few people did. Those that did had gastroenteritis by Day 3...
After ten days of this, we were pretty ripe. But the whole busload of us smelled the same and we were used to it. We didn't notice. But when we finally got back to the city, THEN we got reactions!
The first thing I did after walking home (I only lived a hundred yards from where we were dropped off) was run a hot bubble bath, and soaked in it for an hour. My clothes went into a tub to soak. But at least I still had a clean set to change into - I'd only stunk up one set of clothes!
Marg