26. People Washed Their Hands (Sort Of)
Contrary to popular belief, some groups of medieval people washed their hands multiple times a day. And at the end of the day, people washed the dirt and sweat off their face. Jewish people in particular made sure to wash their hands before eating, and Christians adopted the same practice. People also washed their hands after eating, since a lot of people didn’t own utensils. In upper-class families, guests were requested to wash their hands by pouring water out of a pitcher called an aquamanile, which was poured over a basin. These aquamaniles were often in the shape of lions, people, or mythical creatures. However, no one was washing to the extent of using soap for 20 seconds. The water in these small pitchers needed to be shared among a large group of people, so most people in the middle ages simply splashed water on their hands before drying.