Bath Day
‘International Bath Day’ is celebrated every year on June 14th
This day celebrates the benefits of relaxing and refreshing oneself in water, particularly in baths.
People have enjoyed baths for a very long time, and some people, in particular, Greek scientist and mathematician ‘Archimedes’, have also found them useful — he worked out how to work out an object’s volume when he thought about the water he was displacing while in a tub.
He was so chuffed with the revelation that came to him that he leapt out of the bath shouting, “Eureka!” — this is Greek for “I have found it!” He’d been mulling over a problem the king of Syracuse had given him, which was to work out if he was being swindled over his new crown and whether it was made of pure gold or if it had been ‘diluted’ with silver.
Gold is denser than silver, so the crown would have to be bigger to reach the same weight as one of only gold, so it would displace more water than its pure gold fellow-crown.
So Archimedes leapt out of the bath, shedding water everywhere, like my dogs do, except he, instead of howling and yelping in indignation at being put in the bath in the first place, yelled, “Eureka!” and ran home naked, and has been acclaimed as the most marvellous mathematician and inventor ever since.
The king of Syracuse was being swindled!
The tale of Archimedes and his “Eureka” moment highlights how inspiring having a bath can be.
Of course, getting clean is also a useful side effect of thinking about gold crowns in the bath.
Bathing used to be more of a communal activity in some societies, especially in ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Romans. Nowadays, some places still go in for public bathing — like Japanese hot springs and Turkish steam baths.
In the UK, we were encouraged to bath (without an ‘e’) together during the drought of 1976. The National Water Council asked us to “Save water, bath with a friend” — as doggos (above) demonstrate so well.
Bathing not only helps with personal hygiene, but it can also promote well-being. It can be a very effective de-stressing therapy that you can provide for yourself — just add a bit of time, some bubbles, scented candles, maybe a glass of gravy, some music, and a rubber duck.
Bliss! Watery bliss!
Also, ‘International Bath Day’ is a good day to encourage water conservation and raise awareness about the importance of responsible water usage.
On a planet level, we need to consider environmental sustainability and find ways to reduce water consumption while still enjoying the benefits of bathing.
I’m not convinced I’d fit in the loo, but I guess that’s quite a good way of recycling water … Uh … maybe …
Bathing can be about finding moments of peace and self-reflection amongst the maelstrom of life, but sharing a pond with your fishy pals has got to be up there on the fun stakes, too!
PupperJack and I want to send Dennett and Louise Peacock our very best wishes and masses of hugs.
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