The last few days the temperature has been going up, and up, and even higher. At one point they were even talking about a heat wave, but that ship has sailed. Wednesday the temperatures will drop to 21 ºC/69 ºF and that’s just fine by me. Don’t get me wrong, I like lovely sunny summer temperatures and I do believe there are a lot of things you can do to stay comfortable. You can try to stay out of the sun and if you have to go out, you can wear light clothes, sunglasses, a hat or a cap and that ever important water bottle. If you get too hot, you can place a wet (cold) cloth in your neck or rinse you wrist under a running tap. Putting your feet in water, helps too. At home you can keep your curtains closed and windows almost closed. Open them when the sun has gone. And drink, drink, drink. Sound like a fun advice but I am not talking about alcoholic beverages here……yeah, it’s a bit of a downer, I know :) But what am I talking about……. you know all this :)Like I said I don’t have a problem with hot weather, I do however have a problem with SWEAT a.k.a perspiration! And I don’t mean sweat in general, because sweat is a part of life and “fresh” sweat does not reek, but I mean that old (maybe very old) nauseating sweat. You know the kind of sweat you smell on the person next to you in the bus while you have your nose in their armpit because there is no other place to put your face, or the kind you smell on the person behind you in a queue, or on that person on a bike in front of you when you are waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Don’t these people know about the great invention we call deodorant? Did they miss all those deodorant ads? Don’t get me wrong, people are free to do as they please. In my opinion they are free to shave armpits, legs, backs, chests and pubic areas or they can just let it all grow. They can shower two times a day or two times a month……whatever, I don’t care as long as I don’t have to smell them.
After encountering 6 people last Saturday who smelled really, really (and again really) bad I came up with a plan. Deodorant should be distributed freely on hot days! At first I thought it was a great plan. Maybe there are people who haven’t heard of deodorant! Maybe others will start using it in abundance (so we don't have to smell the non users)! Nothing wrong with that, now is there? At least they won’t be smelling up the place anymore. On the other hand, people might be offended and I don’t want to offend or hurt people's feelings. Hmm… I have to think about this some more, I am still not sure if it’s great plan or not.
So what do you think: Would it be kindness if we supplied those (reeking) people with free deodorant or would it be plain rude?
14 comments:
Here again without disturbin typo:
Stinkin' sweat sucks! Thank god, that I have hay fever most of the times during summer.
I once had an employee who smelled really bad. I found it quite dificult to approach the situation in a tactfull way. All sublime comments and question didn't work, he never got it.
So I placed a bottle of anti-transpirant one morning on his desk. That worked.
I think we need Stink Police. I know what you mean about the stinkies out there but it doesn't seem to bother them. I guess when you smell it 24/7 it's not a big deal anymore. I also think we can use dental hygiene Police. I've passed people on the street and they are leaving a wake of bad breath behind them (and it smells like a behind too).
Being in NYC this morning I think someone forgot to flush last night. It's not even hot out but it smells pretty, pretty, pretty bad
I'm not sure your idea would work Dakota, because I think old sweat smells even worse when it's coated with a layer of deodorant. Deodorant is meant to be used preventatively. I know a man who is homeless and frankly he smells homeless. One day I hired him to help me move some junk, and on his third trip up the stairs he announced he had broken a sweat. He then produced some deodorant from his knapsack, stepped out into the hallway and proceeded to "underarm" as he put it. I swear he smelled even worse after that. Of course, it had probably been weeks since his last shower, and his armpits were crusty with layers of sweat and deodorant. The road to hell is paved with good intentions...
I think some people forget to change their cloths and that this is often the problem. I understand that the British have been accused of not changing their underwear very often but I assure you that I put on a clean pair of pants at least once, if not twice, a day.
:-))
People just can't smell themselves - ask any smoker! I have a friend whose car stinks of dog, so I find all sorts of reasons to meet up somewhere rather than go in her car, yet she thinks she would be saving me from smelly tram passengers! Fortunately I don't encounter many, despite the fact that it's quite hard to buy anti-perspirant in Belgium, as opposed to deodorant. Anyway, neither is much use if people don't wash themselves or their clothes often enough. Or if they eat onions for breakfast!
My ex-husband never uses deodorant. Somehow I never noticed this when I was madly in love with him. Interestingly his current girlfriend doesn't seem to notice that or his horrible cigarette breath. I do though. I had to step in when he tried to stop our two daughters using deodorant though - pubescent sweat is rank!!! and it would alienate them from their friends.
LOL Stu!
I'm COMPLETELY with you on this one and it does my head in too Dakota and how they do not know is beyond me!
It's almost as bad as standing in a queue when someone has just put out a cigarette before coming into the shop - they really ming, but have no idea just how badly. *cough* or do I? ;-(
I would probably end up in hospital Stu. I can feign pretty good. Hmm…I am, of course, talking about asphyxiation here ;)
I have hay fever too, Wanderingthinker but thanks to (or not) the antihistamine I can still smell things. Great to read that handing out free deodorant or antiperspirant can work :)
Oh, stink police on odour patrol! That’s a great idea Phil Instead of handing out tickets and fines they can hand out deodorant, soap, floss, toothpaste/toothbrushes and breath mints :)
Hmm….. You gave me something to think about, Zoom! Sweat, deodorant, than sweat again, followed by another layer of deodorant. Just thinking about it makes me sick! Maybe we should throw in free showers too (for the homeless, that is).
And to clear something up, I wasn’t talking about homeless people! I was talking about those people who get a 100 euros worth of groceries but don’t want to spend a few euros on personal hygiene.
That’s another good point, Kat. Maybe they don’t change their clothes enough. Hmm… you know what…. We also offer clothes changing calendar and some laundry detergent ;)
Strange, I’ve never heard that about the British before :)
You’ve got a good point there, Qaminante. I know (being an ex-smoker) people can’t smell themselves or get used to the odour the produce. On the other hand, everybody knows that they have to wash and change their clothes too. Hmm…. Maybe it’s just a case of indifference. As long as they don’t smell it, it won’t bother them.
“It’s quite hard to buy antiperspirant in Belgium”, I was actually amazed by this.
All the major brands have them these days. Surely the must sell Deoleen!
Strange man, your ex Snowqueen ;) So good of you to step in.
It’s not so strange that his new g-friend does not smell the sweat and cigarette breath. When love is quite new, you are still on cloud nine. When you start to descend, you also start to notice stuff like bad breath and body odour :)
Well DoGGa, I think Qaminante had a good point, they just don’t smell the stench themselves. Remember when you smoked, did you ever thought about the way you smelled? I didn’t! Although, I’ve to admit that I always carried deodorant, perfume and breath mints with me :) Nowadays when I encounter a smoker only one thing comes to mind: YUK!
I know where you are coming from, but I think its more to do with lifestyle than deodorant!!!
No I never heard of Deoleen, though it may be sold under a different brand name in Belgium. You CAN find deodorants which are also antiperspirants, e.g. Nivea in stick form, but you have to look very hard and there will be only one or two among a whole row in a supermarket. I stock up in England because I also like mine unperfumed. I have no idea why there are these differences between markets! It's chicken-and-eggish, because manufacturers may claim there is no demand, but how could there be if something hasn't been widely available?!
Now that’s a scary thought Andre :) I hope it’s not going to be a very popular lifestyle.
Oh Qaminante I just found out that Deoleen is Dutch (I never knew that). It’s also un-perfumed and you can get it with or without alcohol. It really is a great product, especially if you like to wear perfume too. There are no smells to contradict each other.
What a popular topic.
Yeah Zoom! I am quite amazed by it too :)
Post a Comment