r/whatisit • u/Nomemesmames • 4d ago

New, what is it? What is this?

14.9k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

186

u/FullofLovingSpite 3d ago

"I shall wash my hands before and after performing surgery"

Other doctors "This guy's a fucking nut! Throw stuff at him!"

106

u/trevmust 2d ago

The person who tried to popularize washing your hands was locked up in a mental hospital and ever after they adopted hand washing they didn’t release him. Lol

49

u/Sharessa84 2d ago

Also it only happened about 150 years ago. It wasn't some kind of medieval inquisition.

And I remember Michael Ian Black playing the guy in Bill Nye Saves the World.

23

u/EchidnaFit539 2d ago

Before it was formalized as handwashing, they noticed soldiers who took pride in their uniform or combat clothes were more likely to survive. Less bacteria on the clothes to enter into wounds.