Her book covers bathing cultures from ancient Greece and Rome, medieval Europe, to modern Korea and the Ottoman Empire.

They were viewed as fundamental to Roman civilization and an obvious example of Rome’s superiority to the rest of the world ... floors of the baths. The resulting steam was channeled through ...

Hammams—the public baths that have been an integral part of ... and even further afield at some of the best spas in the world. But these bathhouses have never been about hygiene alone.

You're basically giving it a steam bath. "I've found the easiest way to clean a microwave without the use of harmful chemicals or cleaning products is to microwave vinegar and water in a microwave ...