Poor hygiene was always associated with lower life expectancy. This information was supported by both science and death figures. However, there is one exception: Amou Haji, the Iranian known as the “dirtiest man in the world”who died at the age of 94 and went half a century without showering.
This man, from the village of Dejgah, in the province of Fars, in the south of Iran, had become known throughout the world for his dirty and unusual habits: not bathing for fear of getting sick, smoking five cigarettes at a time and even vacuuming manure from a metal pipe.
In addition to what might be seen in videos, different myths covered his life: some said that he ate animals that had been run over or rotten meat, others claimed that he drank liters of water that he collected in a rusty bucket.
His strange lifestyle made him a phenomenon. Thousands of tourists traveled exclusively to meet him and posted their videos which quickly went viral. He was even the protagonist of a documentary filmed in 2013 called “The strange life of Amou Haji”.
To add more questions to his life, Haji a few months ago took a bath for the first time in 60 years. “The villagers took him to a toilet to take a bath,” Iran’s IRNA agency said, and “shortly following, the 94-year-old man died”.
From what might be known regarding this peculiar character, decades ago he decided to isolate himself following suffering emotional problems, and little by little he began to not want to bathe for fear of getting sick, assuring that he suffered a real aversion to water and soap.
Despite leading this lifestyle, the latest medical studies conducted by British specialists revealed that his health had no problems. He had even developed a very strong immune system.
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