Anyway what I’ve learned today is that there is a market for the public bath house to come back.
Y’know. Giant pool of steaming hot water, soaps and oils and suchlike provided, a small nominal fee at the door to come in and use the facilities, (with occasional free days) refreshments you can purchase on site. Full on Roman style public baths.
I’m in. Better that than another Walmart or whatever.
Massage therapists on site if you want to purchase a massage, maybe some yoga or fitness rooms, a gym, and a cold pool and a sauna. To alternate between the hot/cold a couple times.
Lord it’d be the best. Just bring back taking a lazy Saturday to go down to the baths.
Oh. And industrial water filtration systems. That’d be important too.
The goal here is to make most of your $$ back on refreshments and snacks and extra services, not the baths themselves, so the door fee can be very cheap.
This is where those ‘industrial water filtration systems’ come in. The dirty water is continually pumped out, filtered, re-heated, and returned as clean fresh water. You don’t just like, marinate in a pool of filth. The Romans figured that out 2,000 years ago.
I know in Japan (and most likely other countries) you clean yourself first, then join the bath. Supposed to be for soaking and relaxing, not just for cleaning.
V. good point. Showers as well, and tbh a lot of Americans could use a cheap place to soak, relax, and get over our WASP aversion to nudity.
If you know of a spa that costs about $2 to get in the door and soak in the hot pools, then I need the name of it right now immediately.
Public bath houses are a big cultural thing in my Cardassian world-building… Probably because I’ve always longed for them myself.
