An 87-year-old man in Iran has left scientists and researchers amused as they found him healthy despite not having taken a bath for over 67 years and eating roadkill.
According to media reports published on Thursday, Amou Jaji, a resident of Dejgah Village in Iran's Kermanshah Province, gave up bathing more than six decades ago due to a fear of water. He believes he may fall sick if he takes a bath.
The reports also said that he doesn’t take regular meals and his diet consists of roadkill such as porcupines and rabbits. He drinks water from puddles.
Jaji also loves smoking. But not tobacco. He rather prefers to smoke animal faeces out of a rusty pipe.
During his youth, the octogenarian had suffered some emotional setbacks and since then he has spent most of his time alone.
Amou Haji (uncle Haji) lies on the ground on the outskirts of the village of Dezhgah in the Dehram district of the southwestern Iranian Fars province, on December 28, 2018
© AFP 2023 /
Jaji currently lives in a shack, built by the locals in the village who felt sorry for him. Apart from this, he has also found a hole in the ground to live in, as he believes that it keeps him grounded and in touch with the reality of life.
When medics visited the shack and carried out tests on Jaji, it surprised them that he had no unhealthy bacteria or serious disease in his body. In fact, he was as healthy as any regular home dweller with good hygiene.
According to Dr. Gholamreza Molavi, cited by The Mirror, Jaji has remained healthy thanks to his strong immune system.
The medics and experts carried out tests to study parasites and bacteria that might have developed in his unwashed body. However, they soon confirmed that Jaji's body didn't have any parasites.