Oh you should freeze it, dry clean, or take a bath with it on. I imagine the gold rushers were doing just that with their Levi's. Smh.
Don't forget the guy on /r/rawdenim a few years ago who was angry that his family member washed his shat-in jeans…
Incidentally, this is another thing that divides weebs from the Japanese. The Japanese denim producers were very confused when denim guys were asking them how to safely clean/maintain denim, because they didn't understand why someone wouldn't just throw them in the washing machine.