The Complicated Human Species

[Gilbey]

The more I observe my cat, the more I see the contrast of our complication when it comes to hygiene. For what would become of the human species without his/hers toiletries and/or cosmetics? Fom soaps, shampoos, deodorants, perfumes, toothpastes, mouthwash, flosses to hair gels; from lipsticks, foundations, powders, concealers, eye shadows to fake fingernails. Have I even scratched the surface yet? All these to make life more pleasant for the civilly hygienic being. Getting back to my cat, all he needs is his tongue to lick himself clean. How simple is that?? lol

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Not as simple as you think,...ever get a hair ball? It's not fun, let me tell ya,... ...and my breath has been known to wilt flowers!

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

They are also a lot more flexible!
They also don't know any better!
We are the higher species (well except for our favorite Cat Maj.Danger), we've got all of this technology so we might as well use it.
I guess if we never had these items, we would be used to living dirty and we would adapt to contorting our bodies so we could clean certain areas. It sounds disgusting to me now, but if I knew no different I guess it would just be second nature! But, I do know different, I'm not accustomed to sitting in a nice restaurant without clothes, next to some other guy with a stinky odor, trying to eat a good meal.
I guess it all goes back to evolution. We are a more evolved species, hence we have more skills, and more desire to present ourselves nicely to others.
It also goes back to evolution in the terms of procreation. For millions of years all different sorts of species have been partaking in specific grooming habits in order to attract a mate, procreate, and take care of their young. Our grooming habits, although possibly a bit over the top at this point, are our way of attracting others, in particular a mate so we can increase our genetic lines. Would you want to go on a date with someone who hadn't showered in a week, groomed himself/herself? I wouldn't. It's the way we have evolved. In a majority of species "pretty" and "handsome" {not only in the terms of "looks" but also in the overall way we take care of ourselves as a whole} have lead to the growing of the population.....

OK rant is over. Sorry, I do have a degree in sociobiology, I've got to put it to use sometimes

 

[Quigley Brown]

What I learned from the History Channel: The ancient Romans used toothpaste formulations based on human urine. Since urine contains
ammonia, it was probably effective in whitening teeth. Do you think such a product would sell today?

 

[Fletch]

It would need a good name.
Like WHIZ, the toothpaste with A Little Something Extra!

lol

 

[Gilbey]

Would you want to go on a date with someone who hadn't showered in a week, groomed himself/herself? I wouldn't.

So would you say that the human species would be a wreck without these things? Yet the cat's still fine even after a week without shower. lol

 

[Quigley Brown]

So would you say that the human species would be a wreck without these things? Yet the cat's still fine even after a week without shower. lol

Wouldn't be great if we didn't perspire? I think I could live with panting...

 

[carter]

Originally posted by Quigley Brown
What I learned from the History Channel: The ancient Romans used toothpaste formulations based on human urine. Since urine contains
ammonia, it was probably effective in whitening teeth. Do you think such a product would sell today?

Aaaggggghhh!

Originally posted by Fletch
It would need a good name.
Like WHIZ, the toothpaste with A Little Something Extra!

lol lol lol lol lol

Originally posted by Quigley Brown
Wouldn't be great if we didn't perspire? I think I could live with panting...

But could your state of health be determined by feeling your nose? lol

Might be a bit messy on the sartorial front.

 

[ScionPI2005]

Wouldn't be great if we didn't perspire? I think I could live with panting...

I have a vision of a board room meeting. Everyone is wearing a very nice suit, or dress. Papers are distributed, with a presentation on an overhead screen. All is quiet except for the sound of a dozen people panting...

 

[carter]

Originally posted by ScionPI2005
I have a vision of a board room meeting. Everyone is wearing a very nice suit, or dress. Papers are distributed, with a presentation on an overhead screen. All is quiet except for the sound of a dozen people panting...

Now I have this Gahan Wilsonesque cartoon stuck in my mind.

lol lol lol lol lol

 

[MrNewportCustom]

What I learned from the History Channel: The ancient Romans used toothpaste formulations based on human urine. Since urine contains ammonia, it was probably effective in whitening teeth. Do you think such a product would sell today?

No it wouldn't, because too many people wouldn't believe it'd whiten their teeth, but rather that it'd make their teeth more yellow.

Camera guns, (explosive?) urine toothpaste . . . what else did you get in that 007 kit?

Personally, I often tire of shaving. At those times I wish for facial electrolysis.


Lee

 

[Diamondback]

What I learned from the History Channel: The ancient Romans used toothpaste formulations based on human urine. Since urine contains
ammonia, it was probably effective in whitening teeth. Do you think such a product would sell today?

Probably go over about like pot-exposure Soylent Green or cafeteria meatloaf, once people found out what was in it...

I have a vision of a board room meeting. Everyone is wearing a very nice suit, or dress. Papers are distributed, with a presentation on an overhead screen. All is quiet except for the sound of a dozen people panting...

I'd be surprised if Miss Daisy doesn't inspire a similar response every time she enters a room...

 

[scotrace]

You can get much cleaner with opposable thumbs.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Not as simple as you think,...ever get a hair ball? It's not fun, let me tell ya,... ...and my breath has been known to wilt flowers!

This reminds me of the old Steve Martin bit: "I gave my cat a bath today. Yeh, she loved it, but I can't get all the fur off my tongue." I laughed hysterically the first time I heard that back in the late '70's - having a cat at the time!

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Fascinating subject..

Of course our natural state is just as we're born; naked, dirty, hungry and cold. No doubt the first humans conducted their day to day affairs in that same state. Based on the heirarchy of needs, I'm sure once they were well fed they figured out how to use the hides of animals as clothes and to wash off the grime down at the river, it became a habit. It's been all up/down (?) hill since then.

It is amazing to stop and consider all that humans go through before they go out the door into the world. (Some more than others, obviously!) [based on what I've observed recently, there is a contingent of society that is one step away from Neanderthal in their approach to grooming! What's next?] {Watch what happens once that Caveman show comes on TV in October!!}

All one has to do is visit a nudist colony sometime to get a feel for what life would be like without some of those "essentials". Nudity and body hair ain't exactly Glamour!

As for myself, I count my blessings having been born in the 'modern era' wear some semblence of glamour and grooming is favored in society. One could say I like the gift wrapping as well as the gift - it is important to me.

I've known enough people and worked with those who might be said to be "back to nature", as it were. Nah, ah! Not for me!

Glamour and grooming for me. If God had wanted us to be naked, dirty and hungry, he'd 'ave made us that way!

-dixon cannon

 

[The Reno Kid]

It would need a good name.
Like WHIZ, the toothpaste with A Little Something Extra!

lol

Or how about WHIZ, America's Number 1 toothpaste! (I am so sorry...)

But seriously folks, I remember when I was a child asking my grandmother (b. 1893) what they used to do before deodorants, etc. She said, "We smelled each others' stink."

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

This reminds me of the old Steve Martin bit: "I gave my cat a bath today. Yeh, she loved it, but I can't get all the fur off my tongue." I laughed hysterically the first time I heard that back in the late '70's - having a cat at the time!

-dixon cannon

That was a joke? I thought he was serious.

 

[Paisley]

Part of hygiene is diet related. When I don't eat wheat, my hair and skin stay a lot cleaner. I don't smell as bad when I sweat. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn't eat a lot of grain (or sugar) and so their hair and teeth probably stayed somewhat cleaner than ours would without much grooming. As for the finer points of grooming, they probably had more important things to do.

However, even up until a few hundred years ago, even royalty had head lice.

Back to the present day, I don't spend a ridiculous amount of time and money on grooming to attract a mate. I do it out of self respect.

 

[Spitfire]

Ever asked you cat, if he wouldn't prefere some toiletpaper ?

 

[carter]

Not my cat, but I did ask my dog. He said he "preferred the carpet."