Surgeons used to mock other surgeons for washing their hands. A centuries-old insult about the French is that they insist upon bathing every day. People seem to generally associate cleanliness with a sort of hysterical fussiness.

This is not about cleanliness; any type of virtue is resisted by others before it becomes the norm, because of course people tend towards less effort than more.

> [..] insult about the French is that they insist upon bathing every day.

That's funny, I think the Brazilians have exactly the opposite insult - i.e., the French rarely take a bath.

::shrug:: Can't say I disagree. People have surprisingly strong feelings about getting their butts splashed with water.

They're afraid they'll enjoy it, and it will undermine their fragile macho manhood.

Perhaps unexpectedly, it was the women who were most put off it, not the men. FWIW. I realize this was hardly a scientific sample.