askandanswer | (no subject)

Okay, so like-- the whole "clean underwear" thing.

[She leans in a bit, forearms braced on the podium, fingers dangling off the edge.]

I mean, like, "clean underwear in case you get hit by a truck", like my mom's always saying. Is it for real? Or is it just my mom? I mean, I'm sure I've heard jokes about it on TV so maybe it's not just my mom that says it.

But seriously, if you're on a gurney in the ER and they've got to cut your clothes off or whatever, is some doctor really gonna stop and be like, "Wow, clean underwear. Good job"? Beeeeecause that's kind of not a comforting thought. I'm not okay with that.

I'm totally not advocating that we abandon clean underwear, I'm just... wondering if whatever underwear business you have going on at the time of an emergency really matters. Does it? If no: why the concern? If yes: is "clean" sufficient or like, are there other guidelines?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Uh, it's more like, what happens when you're not wearing clean underwear. Like do you want EMTs looking at your gross period-stained cheesy stinky week-old panties while they're trying to staple your severed limbs back on, or whatever.

I think bras are exempt from this rule. Everybody knows you don't wash bras unless Jupiter is in the seventh house and Virgo is rising or whatever, so there's no law in effect there.

Oh, Jesus, no, I don't do that. It's more like, my mom's always like FRESH CLEAN UNDERWEAR IN CASE OF EMERGENCY but unless I'm putting a few pair in my purse... say it's 11 pm and I've been at work all day then gone out after work and I'm coming home, sorry, those are not fresh clean brand-new underwear I've got on.

Also like--if I'm about to get hit by a bus those underwear wouldn't stay clean anyway, if you know what I mean.

Bras have to be exempt, you can't be washing those left and right. Think of the underwires and elastic.