So yesterday I'm listening to NPR on my way to work, as I do every morning, and they're running a multi-reporter in-depth look at ... shampoo. This amidst the greatest worldwide economic upheaval since the 1920s.
The hair-raising (or should I say rinsing) diagnosis: Americans wash their hair too often. Now, I can't say that I'm surprised. As Americans, we delve into cleanliness with a passion only otherwise reserved for war.
Certainly, this story had to have some financial impact. We - as Americans - are running up credit card tabs full of sudsy bubbles?
No.
But in a most subtle way, through no intention of NPR's producers I'd guess, it drove home the point of why we Americans are swept up in this crisis.
A 1908 US newspaper article was cited saying that it was safe for Americans to wash their hair once every two weeks. And in a mere 100 years, we've evolved to cleaning our oily noggins a minimum of four times a week.
And because of this, we're wasting money on mass quantities of shampoos and conditioners (to put back in the oil we strip out thru too-frequent washes). Not to mention the water conservation we could champion without constant sudsing.
But our consumerism society, with its commercials for Farrah's Shampoo, have convinced us that once-a-week washing is not enough. And the cheap shampoo is not enough. Oh, and you need conditioner. And I guess you'll need a bigger bathroom to hold all of those products. Or maybe you need a tub with jets to waste more water and more electricity.
Which leads to a bigger bathroom, followed by a bigger house to hold that bathroom.
And pretty soon you've got Americans borrowing way beyond their means, because they need 3400 square feet of living space.
And they take out ARMs to pay for it. And the world's economy goes to hell in a handbasket.
But with shiny locks, of course.
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