Imagine a world filled with billions of people, each living lives so different from our own that it’s hard to picture. This is the story of one of those people, a man who truly led a life like no other.
Most people, no matter where they’re from, enjoy taking baths or showers. How often they bathe might differ from person to person, but the general idea is that regular washing is a good thing.
But Amou Haji had a very different opinion. He decided not to take a bath for 67 years! Yes, you read that right. For nearly seven decades, this Persian man went without a single wash, and he claimed he had a good reason for it.
Amou Haji, who was born in 1928, lived all by himself in a small Iranian village called Dez Gah. No one knew his real name, so the locals just called him “Amou Haji,” which means “old man.” Some say he became a recluse after losing the love of his life, which led him to withdraw from society.
His home was a small shelter on the edge of town, made of simple cinder blocks. And despite his strange habits, he didn’t seem to bother anyone.
Before dying at the age of 94 in 2022, Amou Haji was known as the 'World's Dirtiest Man.' He lived in a cinder block shack and had not bathed with water or soap for over 60 years.
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) December 19, 2023
Haji's other peculiar habits were well documented, which included consuming roadkill, smoking a… pic.twitter.com/7yDmRdP5OC
Now, Amou Haji had some unique ways of taking care of himself. When his hair or beard got too long, he didn’t use scissors or a razor. Instead, he would set them on fire! That was the extent of his grooming, and as a result, his skin and hair had turned the same shade of gray.
But what’s truly fascinating is that despite not bathing for over 60 years, Amou Haji lived to be 94 years old and seemed to be in surprisingly good health.
He had no problem drinking water, even if it came from a rusty tin can. It was reported that he drank up to five liters of water every day, unbothered by the dirt or rust on the container.
When it came to food, Amou Haji had his own unique diet. He preferred to find his food on the ground rather than accept fresh food offered by others. He once declared that porcupines were his favorite meal and that he loved eating roadkill. In fact, he was known to consume meat that looked rotten or decayed.
But it didn’t stop there. Amou Haji also had a habit of smoking—though not in the way you might think. He was known to smoke animal feces from a pipe, and he was often seen puffing on multiple cigarettes at once.
Despite his strange diet and lack of hygiene, doctors who examined him were amazed by his health. Dr. Gholamreza Molavi from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences checked him out and found that, despite everything, Amou Haji was in good shape.
He did contract trichinosis, a parasitic infection that can come from eating infected meat. Given his fondness for eating dead animals found by the roadside, this wasn’t too surprising. But even this didn’t seem to affect him much.
Sadly, after living his entire life in such an unusual way, Amou Haji passed away at the age of 94, just a few months after his neighbors convinced him to take a bath for the first time in decades.
His life was truly one-of-a-kind—a testament to living on your own terms, no matter how strange they may seem to others. Even though he lived a life that was hard to understand, it was clear that he was content with the choices he made, right until the very end.
Check out the video:
He allegedly passed away months after having his first bath:
