"Sci-Fi’s Difficult Genius", Peter Bebergal

Lee · 27 Apr 2015, 16:47 · from 2015-April.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee)
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2015 12:47:57 -0400
Subject: (urth) =?windows-1252?q?=22Sci-Fi=92s_Difficult_Genius=22=2C_Pete?=
 =?windows-1252?q?r_Bebergal?=
Message-ID: <BLU175-W13272B26D3C0E67B2C17B3CFE90 at phx.gbl>

>Dan'l Danehy-Oakes: I've always wondered about that phrase, "unwashed Philistines." Is there
>any reason to believe that Philistines bathed less frequently than their neighbors?


Given the desert environment they lived in, bathing was probably a less frequent occasion than

for people living in areas with higher rainfall (and thus fresh water reserves).


Personal hygiene seems to have been a defining cultural feature of the Abrahamic religions which

(along with dietary restrictions) helped distinguish them from their "unwashed" neighbors.


Ritual bathing was a part of Judaism (pre-cursor to baptism) and Islam, and circumcision was a

related cleanliness-type practice also.

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