'World's dirtiest man' who went decades without washing dies aged 94

A man who earned himself the title of being the 'world's dirtiest person' has passed away at the age of 94 after going decades without washing.

If you've ever had to rely on baby wipes while at a festival, or tried to see how long you can really stretch without washing your hair, then you might have felt like you've previously earned the title of the World's Dirtiest Person.

Many people feel grubby if they go more than one day without a shower, but Amou Haji, from Iran, wouldn't have blinked twice at the thought of going years without washing.

Haji - whose name is actually an endearing moniker for an elderly person - managed to go for more than 60 years without cleaning himself after choosing to avoid showers over fears that being clean would make him sick.

He avoided soap and water, and said he hated the thought of simply bathing himself.

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Haji's unusual habits didn't stop with his showers, as he is also said to have had an aversion to fresh food and liquid. Rather than opting for foods well in their 'use by' date, he is said to have loved chowing down on rotten porcupine and drank water from a rusty oil can.

For a few extra nutrients, or whatever you want to call them, Haji allegedly liked to smoke animal faeces out of an old pipe.

Even with these habits, which I do not recommend trying, Haji lived a long life before he passed away at the age of 94 on Sunday (23 October).

According to the IRNA news agency, he passed away in the village of Dejgah in Iran, where he had spent most of his life.

The elderly man lived an isolated life, though locals are said to have built him a brick shack to shelter in after noticing that he had been sleeping in a hole in the ground.

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In 2013, a short documentary titled The Strange Life of Amou Haji offered an insight to his existence.

Shortly before his death, villagers succeeded in getting him to go to a bathroom to wash for the first time in decades, according to a local official who spoke to Iranian state media.

The exact record for the longest time without showering is disputed as a few people, for some reason, have argued they hold the title.

However, one potential record holder for the longest time between washing is Kailash Singh, a 67-year-old from India who alleged he had not showered in 39 years.

If Haji's 60-year record is correct, he managed to get a good couple of decades on his other dirty competitor.

Topics: World News, Health

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.