October 12, 2011
GENEVA (AFP) - When it comes to socks, one is more likely to find a French or Swiss man wearing a smelly pair than a German or a Brit.
A study by Swiss firm Blacksocks found that only 66 percent of Frenchmen changed their socks daily, while just seven in ten Swiss men put on a clean pair every day.
On the other end of the hygiene scale were German and British men, with 78 percent saying they put on fresh socks daily, according to the survey of 3,000 people across six European states.
Overall, 77 percent of women and men surveyed changed their socks daily, while 11 percent do so once every two days.
Four percent put on a fresh pair every three days, and one percent changed their socks only once a week.
The frequency of changing socks may be related to the number of pairs owned.
German men were found to be the biggest sock owners, with 24 pairs on average each. Austrians came just after with 23 pairs, followed by the Swiss with 22 pairs.
Frenchmen own the least pairs -- just 17 on average each, the survey said, adding that it could explain why they kept their socks on for a longer time than other nationalities.
