Amou Haji, 94, the "World's Dirtiest Man," dies after surviving 5 decades without bath

 

Amou Haji

The "dirtiest man in the world" for not taking a shower for decades, Amou Haji, a man of Iranian descent, has died at the age of 94, state media reported on Tuesday.

Amou Haji, who did not wash for more than half a century and was single, died on Sunday in the village of Dejgah in the southern province of Fars, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) news agency reported.

A local official told the agency that Haji hadn't showered because he was afraid of "getting sick."

He said he hated even the thought of bathing.

The Iranian chose not to wash for over 60 years because he believed that being clean would make him sick.

"But for the first time a few months ago, villagers took him to a bathroom to wash," IRNA reported.

Amou previously said that he chose this abnormal way of life after experiencing emotional setbacks in his youth. He had since become completely isolated from everyone.

He also avoided fresh food and drinks. His favourite food was a rotten porcupine, and he would drink water from a rusty oil can.

He preferred smoking animal faeces out of an old pipe rather than tobacco.

So interesting was his story that a documentary film titled "The Strange Life of Amou Haji" was made about his life in 2013.

Mr Haji had spent most of his life in Dejgah village in the province of Fars in southern Iran. Concerned locals built him an open brick shack to live in after seeing that he was sleeping in a hole in the ground.

It's disputed as to who holds the world record for the longest time without showering. Several people put their names forward for the unwanted title.

Kailash Singh, an Indian man who was 67 years old and said he hadn't showered in 39 years, used to hold the record for the longest time between baths.