A hermit described by the media as “the dirtiest man in the world” has died at the age of 94, just months after he was washed up for the first time in decades.
Amo Hajj has refused to use soap and water for more than half a century for fear of getting sick.
The Iranian, who lives in the southern province of Fars, had avoided earlier attempts by villagers to clean it up.
But local media says Amo Hajj has finally given in to pressure and took a shower a few months ago.
According to the Iranian IRNA news agency, he fell ill shortly afterwards and died on Sunday.
In a previous interview, which he gave to the Tehran Times in 2014, he revealed that his favorite meal was a porcupine, and that he lives between a hole in the ground and a brick hut built by caring neighbors in the village of Dejah.
He told the outlet at the time that his unusual choices were due to “emotional setbacks” when he was younger.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA said years of not showering had left him covered in “soot and pus” skin, while his diet consisted of rotten meat and unhealthy water that he drank from an old oil canister.
He was also fond of smoking, having been photographed on at least one occasion puffing more than one cigarette at a time.
The news agency said that attempts to bathe him or give him clean water to drink made him sad.
However, whether or not he holds the record for running the longest distance without a shower has been the subject of some controversy. In 2009, there were reports of an Indian man who – at that point – had not brushed or brushed his teeth for 35 years. It was not immediately clear what had happened to him since then.
