Mr. Clean and All That: An American Obsession
James A. Fussell 1995, Kansas City Star, St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
ONE of the nice things about living in America in the 20th century is that, chances are, the person next to you doesn't stink. More than likely they took a shower, washed their hair, put on clean clothes and brushed their teeth.
Heck, they might even smell good!
That's because from Mr. Clean to Mr. Bubble, from our complexions to our carpets, Americans are obsessed with cleanliness like no other people on the planet.
It wasn't always that way.
In the early 19th century, as one English visitor put it, Americans were "filthy, bordering on the beastly" - perfectly at home in their dirty, smelly, bug-infested, germ-laden hovels. Indeed, many pre-Civil …
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Publication information:
Article title: Mr. Clean and All That: An American Obsession.
Contributors: James A. Fussell 1995, Kansas City Star - Author.
Newspaper title: St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO).
Publication date: June 19, 1995.
Page number: 5E.
© 2008 St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.
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