An Iranian hermit nicknamed the “World’s dirtiest man” has died at the age of 94, soon after taking his first bath in over 60 years.
As per Iran’s IRNA news agency, Amou Haji had refused to use soap and water for more than half a century, fearing it would make him sick.
Amou haji, who lived in the southern province of Fars, had previously avoided attempts by villagers to clean him up.
According to local media, Haji finally gave in to pressure and washed a few months ago. But he became ill shortly afterward and died on Sunday.
Decades of not bathing had left him with “soot and pus” on his skin, according to IRNA, while his diet consisted of rotten meat and unsanitary water drank from an old oil can.
He also enjoyed smoking and was seen on at least one occasion puffing on multiple cigarettes at the same time.
After Haji’s death, the unofficial record could go to an Indian man who also had not bathed for much of his life.
In 2009 the Hindustan Times reported that Kailash “Kalau” Singh, from a village outside the holy city of Varanasi, had not washed for more than 30 years; in an attempt to help end “all the problems confronting the nation”.