The headline on the front page of 20 Minuten this morning announced Zurich’s latest crisis – Public baths: trouble due to underwear trend. Naturally I snatched up a paper and began reading furiously, hoping to learn more about this disturbing story. Here is a summary of what I learned.
Apparently, it has become fashionable among teenage boys to wear boxer shorts underneath their shorts-style bathing suits while swimming at the city’s numerous badi (public beaches and pools). “Why is this a problem?” you ask? Simply put, “Das ist unhygenisch,” at least according to several of the city’s bademeister (pool attendants). One bademeister went on to explain, “You never know when those underwear were last in the washing machine.” The same boys’ ability to keep their bathing suits (or their bodies) clean, however, was not called into question.
Basel is far ahead of Zurich in fighting this hazard, having already instigated a poster campaign against swimming in the boxers + bathing suit combo. The Zurich officials are just not cooperating, laments one local bademeister, who has decided to take the law into his own hands and eject offenders from his pool on the spot (he also makes use of his “good eye” to distinguish today’s modern bathing suit styles from actual shorts – not an easy task for the untrained, apparently). Until he has succeeded in eradicating all the offenders, though, I can only beg you, dear readers, to inform yourself of the risks before swimming in the badi of Zurich. Or better yet, head to Basel. It’s safer there.
They have a picture of two offending youth, but not of the underwear/swimsuit combo. How are we to judge for ourselves?!
It must be so hard to be a reporter in Switzerland. There is so little that is actually wrong that newspapers are forced to report on people wearing their underwear to swim.
Very sad.
Perhaps we should start some kind of a campaign to create real problems instead of imaginary ones? That way the reporters could feel useful.
Absolutely shocking! Maybe they should hand out free Speedos at the door? 🙂
TQE – I noticed that, too. The full-length picture did appear in the print version, though. Boy, are you missing out! 😉
GL – can’t wait to see what kind of trouble you start stirring up. Jaywalking? Placing green glass in the receptacle for brown glass? There’s all kinds of opportunities for mischief out there…
Christina – After having spent time on Italian beaches, I just can’t get behind your speedo initiative. Sorry. 🙂
Ah-ha. That explains the sign I saw last weekend at a public bath in Burgdorf (which is nowhere near Zurich) stating only wear one bathing suit – with the ONE underlined – in the pool. My (Swiss) husband and I couldn’t figure that one out.
I always shower before going into a pool in Switzerland, and I always wear a clean bathing suit.
Then…I proceed to pee in the pool.
Is that wrong?