A new survey of 1.500 people between the ages of 16 and 74 has revealed that a quarter of Germany’s male population isn’t too eager to change their pants every day. Teenagers, on the other hand, are keeping their bedspreads surprisingly clean.

Most Germans change their pants every day

For the majority, the data isn’t so damning: 80,4 percent of people in Germany change their underwear at least once per day. Upon closer inspection however, a new survey conducted by the Marktforschungsinstitut GfK has revealed that almost a quarter of men in the federal republic don’t take the time to change their pants at least once a day, about the same amount as their Swiss neighbours.

Perhaps the scariest statistics of the survey are that 1,4 percent of men in Germany change their pants only weekly, and mind-bogglingly, 0,8 percent admitted to surrendering their pants to the laundry basket “seldom”, an answer so mysterious that it arouses only horror.

In comparison, only every tenth woman in Germany changes their underwear less than once a day. 6,4 percent change their knickers every second day, and a not insignificant 3,9 percent change their pants more than once a day. 0,4 percent joined the intriguing group of people in Germany who only change their pants “seldom”.

German teens love changing their bed sheets

Another activity to measure one’s hygiene, how often the bed sheets get changed, was a domain where people in Germany performed the worst compared to their DACH neighbours. According to research, bed sheets should be changed every two weeks in order to ensure good quality sleep. In Germany only 40,7 percent said they abided by this rule, compared to 45,4 percent in Switzerland and 47,2 percent in Austria. 

Contrary to cultural stereotypes, teenagers and young people were the cleanest when it came to keeping their beds fresh. 16 to 29-year-olds were the age group with the crispest sheets. According to the study, one reason for this could be that teenagers spend more time in bed than ever before, streaming films and scrolling the internet.

Thumb image credit: chaowalit jaiyen / Shutterstock.com