Bath Shower Home Design

LIKE millions, perhaps even billions, of people, David Schmidt of Amherst, Mass., takes a shower every morning. For the last few years, between first spritz and final drain, a question has vexed him: why does the shower curtain suck in? Today, thanks to $28,000 worth of high- powered computer software , a Ph.D. in engineering and too much free time, Dr. Schmidt, 31, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Massachusetts, believes he has an answer. It has to do with why airplanes fly, hurricanes twist and apples fall. True, the mystery of the sucking shower curtain does not rank high on the ladder of mankind's challenges, and he himself never encountered a sucking curtain until he showered one day at his mother-in-law's house. There, with the showerhead hissing away, the corner of her gossamer- thin shower curtain billowed in and clung clammily to his leg. ''It sucked beautifully,'' he recalled. For years, apparently, engineering cognoscenti a...

Finnish cabinet ministers do it, Russian hockey players do it, Koreans do it on a first date. Social bathing—known as "naked communion" in Japan—is an integral part of several cultures, strengthening bonds between family members, colleagues, and heads of state. In many countries it's also considered the proper way to welcome a foreign guest. Whether sauna or sento, banya or hammam, the shared bath is society's great leveler, its group hug, its collective sigh. "Not sampling the local bathing culture would be like not trying the local cuisine," says Melisse Gelula, co-founder of Well&Good NYC, an online wellness guide . And like any other institution integral to a society, this one has its rules, the first of which is to behave with churchlike decorum. In Finland, the sauna is the church, says Joonas Berghäll, co-director of the Finnish documentary Steam of Life. (Statistics bear him out: With just over five million inhabitants, Finland has roughly...

When we clean our homes, we typically focus on the same major areas – the toilet seat, kitchen counter and bin under the sink, natch – but completely overlook others. These neglected nooks are hot spots for sickness-causing bacteria – and yet you may not even realise it. Prepare to be grossed out – #sorrynotsorry – before making good with these quick clean tips . 1. Pillows and quilts You clean your bed covers and cases, but how about the pillows and quilts? They’re breeding grounds for bacteria, fungal spores, bed bugs and dust mites, which produce droppings that can cause itchy eyes and asthma. Aim to clean them every two to three months at a temperature setting of at least 60 degrees. Then leave them to dry in sunlight to kill microorganisms.   2. Toothbrushes Every time you flush the toilet, an aerial spray of tiny water droplets tainted with icky faecal bacteria is released. These toilet germs can travel up to six feet, surviving for two hours, settling on bathroom surfaces such...

By Matt Whyman Published: 01:56 BST, 24 August 2012 | Updated: 01:57 BST, 24 August 2012 e-mail 45 View comments Downstairs in the utility room, our new puppy, Hercules, was howling. This was getting ridiculous. How could something so tiny make such a noise for so many hours? According to my wife, Emma, this was ‘sleep-training’ and she was refusing to go downstairs to deal with it. But I couldn’t take it any longer. The last time I’d looked at my bedside clock, it was four in the morning, and I couldn’t say how much time had passed since then as I’d placed a pillow over my head in a bid to block out the noise. For the first half of the night, we’d had a steady stream of visits and complaints from our four children. The younger two, Frank and Honey, eight and six, were the first to shuffle in, asking if they could play on their Nintendo DS consoles until the puppy decided to call it a night. Author Matt Whyman with the family hound, Hercules" class="blkBorder" /...