Dirty Dishes	Dirty Dishes Archive

View our poll archive

A recent article in the Economist notes that the French, "never especially praised" for their "standards of hygiene," are installing bidets in only 10 percent of new residences-- down from the 95 percent just twenty years ago. (While 25 percent of French homes now boast a bidet, only six percent of Germans and three percent of English folk have a "porcelain pony" ą la maison.)

Also noted was the fact that the French use, on average, 700 grams of soap per person per year as compared to 1400 grams for the average Brit. They also bathe much less frequently, but use perfumes (both men and women) by record-setting bucketfuls.

Frenchies do, however, change their underwear more often (56 percent of Frenchman do so daily, as compared

to only 45 percent of Germans); 75 percent also brush their teeth twice a day using 33 percent more toothpaste than the British (who are not exactly noted for their standards of dental care) and are more likely to wash their hair at least twice a week.