hygiene | The Smart Set

Don’t Sing, Scarf, or Spit

John Capista — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:28:17 +0000

Culture, if we can still call it that, has taken a definite downward turn in the last couple of decades. Tee shirts with I HATE YOUR F—ING MASK (the F word spelled out) printed in large letters on the front. Texting at the dinner table. Parents using profanity to children. Being honked and tailgated while […]

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Dust Never Sleeps

Bernd Brunner — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 12:30:59 +0000

They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some of them are slim and easily recognizable as such, they can look clumsy or elegant, others are shaped like a flying saucer. In our advanced age, some of them even have a brain and — almost — a life of their own. Although at some […]

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Freshly Minted

Sara Davis — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:12:43 +0000

Once, and only once, I saw a stranger behaving curiously in the toothpaste aisle. He was standing with his arms crossed and brow furrowed; his eyes seemed to scan everything from the top shelf to bottom, then back to the top again. I waited some time for him to move before I realized that […]

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In Defense of Stink

Lockie Hunter — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:12:43 +0000

My grandmother, like an older bottle of wine, had a complex odor. She was heady. A mix of underarm odor, baby powder, sour milk, and vine ripe tomatoes. It was lovely. It was one of the things that made her memorable. My mother disagreed. I teach creative writing at a college where students can major […]

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Take Two Hookworms and Call Me in the Morning

Jennifer Fisher Wilson — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:12:43 +0000

Public health messages usually sound easier said than done: you know, eat right, exercise regularly, stop smoking. But back in 1931, a key public health message was, in our modern view, truly simple: “wear good shoes.” According to an article in Alabama’s Florence Times-News, wearing shoes was exceedingly important — and apparently not all that […]

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