On Wed, 7 Aug 1996, Cynewulf wrote:

	I was just wondering, about something that keeps popping up in 
Ranma.  Why, before they go to take a shower or bath, do they keep 
dumping a bucket of cold water on themselves?  I mean, when I clean, I 
just step into a hot shower... why freeze first?

Japanese baths keep the same water for the whole day, and so the whole
family shares the same water.  For this reason, you'd want to go into
the bath relatively clean.  Recycling bathwater may sound odd, but the
baths are larger and the water kept hotter.

According to _Bicycling Japan_ (A pipe dream of mine), the pre-bath is
often a heated show.  Maybe they use cold water cause it's cheaper,
or maybe it's like the sauna/icewater thing done in Scandanavia.

	Also... in the Cooking Competition OAV, why does Soun go outside 
and start dowsing himself in cold water?  You see him freezing, snot 
dripping from his nose, praying for Akane's sake... what, some kinda 
endurance test or something?

I'm guessing it's the Japanese equivalent to sack-cloth and ashes...an
outdated method of spiritual cleansing.  But that's just a guess.

Jeff 

****jdrutsch@ucdavis.edu***********************Jeff Rutsch***************** 
I -I -I-I *"She's a kind hearted woman, she studies evil all the time.
IV-IV-I-I * She's a kind hearted woman, she studies evil all the time.
V -IV-I-I * You well's to kill me, as to have it on your mind."-R. Johnson
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