Talk:Bathing machine

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Former featured article Bathing machine is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.
Main Page trophy This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on March 9, 2004.

One question about the origin of bathing machines: did they come into being because people became more modest, and couldn't bathe out in the open any more? Or was there an upsurge in the interest in bathing? -- ESP 05:04 18 Jul 2003 (UTC)

If I remember correctly it was an increased interest in bathing in the open. The article also fails to mention that the main reason for using a bathing machine was for use in beaches where it was shallow for a long way out. The use was mainly so that you wouldn't have to walk a long distance. // Liftarn
A bit of both, I think. Both an increase in interest in bathing per se - prior to this bathing for pleasure or for curative reasons was not common; if you needed to go into the sea (as a boatman, for example) you did but it wasn't an activity in and of itself, plus ideas of modesty gaining ground. Tonywalton 22:15, 10 August 2005 (UTC)

It's an interesting question. This article http://www.jasa.net.au/seaside/Bathing.htm from the Jane Austen Society gives a very different impression from the first sentence of the Wikipedia article (which doesn't have a reference, unfortunately). According the Jane Austen Society paper, the health craze for sea bathing meant that women were joining men in the water. Since men always swam naked, it seems the bathing machines were a solution to prevent the women from seeing naked men, and men continued to swim naked until 1860, well into the Victorian era. So it wasn't really about modesty in dress (since the men in any case had none) but modesty in segregation of the sexes - a morality much older than Victorian. I'd like to (or for someone else to) think of a way to incorporate this into the article. 65.92.126.136 21:22, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Queen Victoria's own bathing machine still exists at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.


[edit] Request for references

Hi, I am working to encourage implementation of the goals of the Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. Part of that is to make sure articles cite their sources. This is particularly important for featured articles, since they are a prominent part of Wikipedia. The Fact and Reference Check Project has more information. Thank you, and please leave me a message when you have added a few references to the article. - Taxman 19:13, Apr 21, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Is this a joke?

I've never heard of bathing machines before in my life. This whole article must be a joke. It's not credible.--Hal Canary (talk) 15:07, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Never heard of it? I guess you're too young to remember the 1890s then. Um, are you serious? -- Infrogmation (talk) 15:24, 22 January 2008 (UTC)