Showering in 1955
I spent the last two weeks in Montreal at my mother-in-law's house. It was built in 1955. Still today it looks modern-ish and so, I imagine that when it was built, it was way ahead of its time. One of the features it has, common today, is a separate shower from the bathtub. For the last two weeks, therefore, I had been showering in it. Every day I was amazed at the dimensions of the shower and it made me think how much human beings have changed - in physical size.
The shower is, using my feet as a measure, roughly 2.75 by 2.5 "Olivier" feet. Let's just say it is tight. I can, however, clean my entire body. Toes, back of the knees, my back. All those places that can be hard to reach are washable. I can bend over comfortably. So it is ok though I admit to a feeling of closeness - those black tiles are too close to my nose.
During those showers my thoughts often wandered to whether a shower of these dimensions would (or could) be built today. My answer to the would or could is a strong NO. Not only do people today like having more space (I do!) but many people could not even fit in the shower. Many that could fit would not reach their toes, backs of knees or backs without constantly banging into a tile. Others would not even be able to reach at all. So what has happened?
In the 43 years since the house built human beings have not evolved physiologically to not fit in a 2.75 by 2.5 "Olivier" foot shower. Nope. Don't blame evolution...well maybe you can if you include the brain. We have become an obese, fat ridden, fast food loving, easy, lazy society. We want processed foods. We want foods that can be microwaved. We have no time to sit down and eat proper meals. We eat on the run. We infuse our foods with fats and sugars. The result is a society where 25% of the adults in the US are considered obese. Some reports state a percentage of 34%. That is outstanding. In Canada the number is 23%.
The threshold for obesity is a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30. Someone who is 180 cm tall (approximately 5 feet 11 inches) needs to weigh at least 97 kilograms (213 pounds) to be considered obese. To someone like me that seems almost impossible to attain. I don't want to discount diseases, handicaps, genetics as factors. Nevertheless I find the fact that so many people are obese phenomenal.
Would a house be built today where 34% of the population could not even shower? NO.
Thank "God" as I wouldn't want to be on the subway :-). What a smell.
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