An Iranian 94-year-old nicknamed the “world’s dirtiest man” for famously not bathing since the middle of the 20th century has died.
The BBC writes Amou Haji passed away on Sunday in Dezhgah village, which is located in the southern province of Fars. The local community called him “Uncle Haji.” Out of fear of contracting an illness, he hadn’t cleaned himself with soap or water for what’s been reported as roughly six or seven decades.
A few months ago, according to the Guardian, Haji was convinced by villagers to wash up.
Haji spoke with the Tehran Times in 2014, revealing he lived in a hole in the ground and a brick shack, while relying on meals including porcupine and various roadkill. He also enjoyed smoking animal feces out of an old pipe rather than tobacco. Haji said his decision to not bathe was due to “emotional setbacks.”
A documentary short titled The Strange Life of Amou Haji was made in 2013, according to Iranian media outlets.
The Hindustan Times reported in 2009 that Kailash “Kalau” Singh, who lived in a village outside of Varanasi, had not bathed in 35 years and preferred a “fire bath.” He explained, “It’s just like using water to take a bath. Fire bath helps kill all the germs and infections in the body.”
