OVERVIEW: The ‘Amou Haji’, who didn't bathe for half a century, are said to have eaten street killers and smoked pipes filled with animal dung.
An Iranian recluse, dubbed "the dirtiest man alive" for not showering for more than half a century, has died at the healthy age of 94, state media reported.
The Irna News Agency reported that 'Amou Haji', the elderly man's adorable nickname, died on Sunday in the village of Dejgah in southern Fars province.
Haji, covered in soot and living in a cinder block hut, has gone without soap and water for more than 60 years, local media reported. Villagers said he refused to wash his body because he experienced an "emotional setback in his youth".
In 2014, the Tehran Times reported that Haji ate street killers and smoked pipes filled with animal feces, believing that being clean would make him sick. The photo showed him smoking several cigarettes at once.
But months ago, villagers persuaded him to wash first, he reported, Irna. After Haji's death, unofficial records likely go to an Indian who had not bathed for most of his life.
In 2009, the Hindustan Times reported that Kailash "Karau" Singh, from a village outside the holy city of Varanasi, had not washed for more than 30 years to solve "all the problems facing the country.". He refused water in favor of what he called a "fire bath." Each night, when the villagers gather, Kalau lights a bonfire, smokes marijuana, stands on one leg, and offers prayers to Lord Shiva," the newspaper said. "It's like drinking water to take a bath," Singh says. "Fire baths help kill all the bacteria and infections in your body."
