Platypusworld

It's that time of year when folks gather around their television sets to watch the big game that will determine the champions of the National Football League. Some nudist groups hold events in their clubhouses and that's a great way to experience the game sans clothes. Others among you may enjoy being bare at home as you watch. Still others will be clothed at parties where there's good food and good company, even if you must wear a team jersey instead of your birthday suit. Superbowl is usually bittersweet for the Platypus. On one hand, we're reminded of the incredibly stupid episode years ago when Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were involved in a "wardrobe malfunction" that exposed a portion of one of Ms. Jackson's breasts for a millisecond on broadcast television. That sparked public "outrage,"  coupled with cries that we should "think of the children" traumatized by seeing a bit of what babies are fed with, and calls for new leg...

Everyone has a story about how they got started in nudism and we never get tired of hearing their stories. We also never tire of hearing about the earliest messages people saw and heard that first put the idea in their minds that it would be neat to try going around completely naked outside and around others. For some it could have been a newspaper or magazine article. For some it could have been the movie Blue Lagoon, where Christopher Adkins and Brooke Shields frolicked in their birthday suits on a tropical isle.  Or that Peter Sellers movie that has hom visiting a nudist club for laughs. We recall an episode of the old Bob Newhardt show where one of his counseling patients planned to ho naked in the woods during a group therapy weekend. We think such cultural epidodes help create interest in going bare. That's why we hope tv shows will still invlude the occasional nudist character.  It's why we care about othet aspects of pop culture too.

There are record-making snowstorms covering the country right now.  Even Atlanta, Georgia and North Florida have received snowfall, resulting in school and highway closures.  What to do? Get a thick warm blanket and a place on the bed or couch. Get a good book to read. And get naked.  Sip some warm tea or cocoa if you wish. Being naked helps beat winter blues and cabin fever.  Being naked helps you feel more comgortable.  It lets you do something different than your neighbors.  Your family will someday remark, "Hey, remember that time we were storm bound and we all got books and blankets and spent the day naked in spite of the weather outside?" Even if you don't share the time with others you still have those books to enjoy.  Classics can be downloaded in ebook form for pennies if you want something different.  If you're naked under a comfy blanket you csn lower the thermostat and save.

Ready for some out-of-the-box "blue sky" dreaming this evening? Here goes: We've often thought about how awesome it would be if the rest areas on interstate highways had places to refresh by getting some sun on your naked body before getting dressed again, getting back in your vehicle, and continuing on your journey. Told you the idea was for dreamers!  Rest areas already have issues with unwelcome "activity" so trying to convince state officisls to put in some opaque "non offense fencing" so that those who would like to relax naked could do so... well it sounds crazy. But hear us out.  First, at least in some parts of the world like Munich Germany there are regular parks where visitors can take their lunch hours naked.  Second, there are many other services at rest stops ranging from pet exercise areas to maps and vending machines. Adding places for nude respite would not cost a lot of money and would not add to polution or litter problems. If trying ...

Your mission.... should you choose to accept it... is to fill the family tub with some nice warm water.  Light a couple candles.  Keep a cool glass of water or other beverage at hand. Then get naked if you'e not already.  Climb into that tub. And soak.  Don't even try to think about anything. Just soak.  And sip your beverage. Relax.  Become calm.  Enjoy how great it is to be bare. Don't fall asleep! But DO enjoy.  Eventually you can climb out. Let the water drain from the tub.  But remain peaceful, at ease, and naked. Forget that it's winter.  Forget everything except how great it is to not be wearing clothes at the moment. You're tefreshed and ready to take on your corner of the world again. There. Aren't you glad you're a nudist?

We just wrapped up reporting the results of the Platypus Poll about who goes naked most at home. One of the reasons that the guys bare more at Casa de Platypus is that it makes a lot of our chores easier and more enjoyable. This is certainly true for any chore that involves water. Doing dishes naked has a lot less "risk" associated with a soapy splash from a pot or pan that hits the water too hard.  Just wipe yourself dry with your towel when the chore's finished. Time passes more quickly too... If you have to stand there scrubbing pans and glassware, may as well stand there naked. Mopping floors is another activity with less "fallout" when you're not wearing any clothes. Ditto for cleaning bathroom tiles, surfaces, or scouring tubs and toilets. Dusting shelves?  Running a vacum and changing out dirt filled bags?  Filling and emptying a steam cleaner on the carpet? Self cleanup is as easy as a hop in the shower and there are no clothes to be laundered afterw...

The results are in.  We asked you whether guys or gals are naked more at your home.  You told us.  So, drum roll please... Husband / Men - 60.48% (280 votes); Wife / Women - 7.78% (36 votes); Son(s) / Boy(s) - 7.78% (36 votes); Daughter(s) - 5.83% (27 votes); It's about equal - 16.63% (77 votes); Other - 2% ( 7 votes ). Total votes cast: 463 Among those selecting "other," responses varied from"Only one there... mostly just me," to "Gay couple so just men but both are nudists full time ," another "I'm  single," plus "And the pets too!" One of the others said that hubby was "naked 2 / 3 of time and wife 1 / 3" while another said "husband and wife equal" and the last said "me / male." Three people visited the poll on the Poll Daddy site itself and they posted comments to that site. Of those, two described having young sons who were always naked, stripping even just as they were about to go shopping or ...

This evening  the Platypus attended a home and garden show.  Among the aisles were at least a dozen swimming pool installation companies.  They each had an impressive array of brochures,  full color picture albums, banners and displays to entice people into getting a pool. Not one thought to use skinny dipping---or even the suggestion of it----to help sell their product.  You know, show a woman from behind in the water and just leave off the  swimwear straps.  Nothing to offend anyone.  Just create the thought that you could swim naked if you had a pool of your own. We have written about this topic before, in the context of spa / hot tub advertisements.  Somehow, live and in-person, with a salesman standing there to sell "suited" recreation it's more glaring. Can't anyone dare to be just a little different?

Those cold winter nights continue to chill, but it doesn't have to be all bad news.  One of life's most enjoyable things is a warm, comfortable, and cozy bed with lots of blankets to keep you warm Then, hop in between those layers completely naked and enjoy one of the  best good night's sleep ever!

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25 [ESV]

Time is running out on your chance to vote in our poll about who bares more at your home: men, women, boys, girls... or is it about equal? When we reach "critical mass" ( enough answers to have a higher confidence level statistically speaking ) we will end the poll, share results, and start a new topic. Help us answer the gender and nudity question by sharing what things are like in YOUR house!

Tonight the Platypuses wrapped up a great dinner with some great friends here at home.  When it came time to wash dishes, Mr Platypus volunteered to do them and Mrs. Platypus told him he could do them in the nude since our guest and her puggles have actually visited a nudist club with us several times in the past. The time spent doing the dishes passed quickly and everyone chatted a bit here and there while passing through the kitchen. For a nudist, a good friend is someone who can "bear" it when you choose to bare and thinks nothing more of it.  It lets you be yourself and that means a lot.

The digital camera has done much to advance nude photography.  With it there is no need to have pictures developped by nosy clerks at the drugstore.  Storage of images is cheap and easy too... plus you can email them to spouses and close friends. If the digital camera did those things, the smart phone puts the camera in everyone's hand at any time.  Thus the naked selfie has been born.  Folks snap their own picture using the bathroom mirror or  forward and backward facing lenses. If the stored versions of these selfies remain around, virtually everyone will have naked pics from many stages of their lives.. even if they never share them.  With that fact, perhaps people will no longer view naked images of the human body as either "bad" or unusual. We can only hope such changes in culture are on the way.

If you search the Platypus website, you will find that we have discussed nudity in the comics several times.  We think the level of nudity found there has parallels to society's views in real life. And the level of body acceptance is dropping.  It's been months since we've seen any nakedness in the morning paper.  Nary a streaker, nary a bathtub bather, nary a nudist camp joke. These used to be common enough that we filled a whole bulletin board of clippings each year. That's no exageration. Now.... virtually nothing short of some panels on TV. True, it is colder weather but, it doesn't explain the virtual elimination of nudity as a subject for the funny papers. We think it matters and we're a bit disturbed by the trend.

Game night gets a lot better when you play board games naked. Didn't pass "go"... didn't collect $200....? Who cares? You still get to be naked!  Lost the shirt off your back landing on Boardwalk? Lose your pants and boxers too! When they "sink your battleship" don't worry about being left in the water. You can skinny dip.  Strip poker can consist of putting clothes back on. Don't take simple games, or life, too seriously. Play naked.

This evening it is cold outside, so all of the Platypus pets are indoors and want to be close by.  While they do have fur we would do well to take a lesson from them and go naked more often. Disrobe like your Dachsun. Strip like a Spaniel. Clothesfree as a Calico cat. Bare as a Bassett. Skinny dip like your goldfish. Be free as your birds. You get the idea.  Now get naked. Longer posts to come this weekend.

Nearly 20 years ago, a then-well known writer within the nudist travel market was referred to us for possible work.  So it was that he sat in my office where I talked to him about helping us. Over the course of the conversation, I asked about his wife and family and then the talk took a strange direction.  I asked what his family's favorite nudist destination was and the dialog went a bit as follows: "My kids don't know I write these articles about nude places because they're younger and... well, 'you know.' " And your wife?  "She doesn't like the sun or being nude.  So she has never gone.  Actually I don't go to the places either.  Not that I would have a p---r--o---b--l--e--m with going, I suppose.  But I can interview people on the phone and it not only cuts travel expenses down, but I don't need to do it to write about it." Turns out, that writer had rarely even been skinnny dipping.  When I asked, "so you're home nudists...

Think about the first time you remember skinny dipping. Was it with someone else?  Who?  Now let us ask, "Was it day time or night time?" Our recollection is that mixed-gender skinny dipping started out during our youth as a night time activity.  Maybe it's because we could only see silouettes of the girls and, therefore, they were willing to bare. Another difference is that, without daylight, one's senses other than sight seem to be more attuned to the feel of the water. To the sound it makes. The smell of the ocean air or the pool's chlorine. Skinny dipping in daylight is different. You have the warm sun on your body. And, yes, you see the others you're swimming in the buff with.  This changes the dynamic. We're not describing these differences as significant for long-time nudists as for those experiencing naked swims during one of their first times. There are differences between taking the plunge in an outdoor pool versus an indoor one, though it's ...

At the moment a certain song by the British rock band The Who has just finished playing on the radio.  The song, "Who are you?" Instantly made us think of CSI episodes on television. The show is / was clearly mainstream and targeted to an audience with solid demographics, judging by the commercials that ran during the breaks.  It makes it easy to forget that the music of The Who was once anti-establishment. Similarly, when The Platypus was in junior high, the teachers scoffed that the older teens who listened to Led Zeppelin would "never amount to anything."  Funny then that just a few years ago the words, "been a long time" screeched by Robert Plant provided the soundtrack to a Cadillac commercial. Guess the people who were destined to never amount to anything can now afford Cadillacs. Point is, things change over time and what was once on the fringe can become mainstream. What went out of style can come back in style.  We believe the same will be true of...

We've just concluded re-watching The Civil War documentary by Ken Burns which made such an impression on television audiences years ago.  It was such a successful treatment of the subject that it left us wishing that Ken Burns would take an interest in nudist history. (He has documented such recreation interests as baseball.) In our past we have participated in a number of news segments and "documentaries" about nudism, but they have usually left us disappointed. High budget or low budget, and even those from media groups with a solid reputation inevitably get to a gotcha moment. They may, for example, refuse to show nudity and handle the pixallation badly as if to say, "yeah we always knew there was somethingvwrong with this."  Or they may refuse to address nudism as a family appropriate activity. Ultimately it comes down to that they want something controversial or "out there" rather than simply telling the story of what we do, what got us started ( ...

This evening as the Platypus sat down to write today's post, he got to thinking about how awesome Saturdays are.  It's the weekend, and it's the day our household gets to spend the most time bare.  Sundays are often filled with church, visiting people, and other things. But Saturdays involve a good bit of time in the birthday suit. That, in turn, led to thinking about the favorite place to spend time naked at home... and that's not simple to answer. When it comes to the amount of time spent naked, it's the bedroom.. The Platypus sleeps naked so that's about eight hours a day or more naked in that room.  Outdoors is great, of course, but we don't have a full non-offense fence...just a screen, which must be set up. And going naked outside doesn't make much sense during cold weather. The bathtub is perfect for a relaxing soak.  The tv den is good for snuggling under a blanket while otherwise naked to watch a good show or movie. But of all the places the Pla...

We've heard it said that a towel is the nudist's "badge" and to some extent, we suppose that's true. Nudist etiquette calls for us to carry a towel and to use it when sitting on the furniture as a courtesy and matter of hygiene. But for many the towel goes beyond that and is an expresion of their personality.  Some like theirs plush. Some always choose bright colors, while others prefer them to be subdued. Some carry embroidered towels with monograms.  Others have nudist themed towels that they take to the club or beach with phrases like, "I love my allover tan," or "Enjoy life naturally." Some want their nudist park's name and logo. We' ve seen those who launder and use the same "lucky" towel much like the Linus character from the Peanuts cartoon carried his blanket. Others have a minimalist approach and carry little more than a small hand towel as opposed to the extra long ones that could cover two chairs. A few nudists have...

For you formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my  Mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being made in secret... Psalm 139:13-15  [ESV]

Mrs. Platypus reads lots of blogs and posts on AOL. Today she read an encouraging entry in a parenting / schooling group from a family that says "clothing optional" has become the new norm at that poster's house. We gave the post a "like." No word on how long that's been the case but it inspires hope. Not only that some more folks are giving nudity a try, but that they're willing to post about the experience. Good luck to them. (Since we don't know how many people they want to see the post we won't link to it here... yet. Maybe later if we get the okay.) It's late, so good night all.

The Platypus just finished an intensive project at work. The usual: deadlines, some mildly intensive pressure to avoid mistakes... and coworkers to thank and get along with.. not to mention some interuptions to overcome. With it finished, along with the end of the day, there's a few ways we could celebrate.  Have a beer or two at a watering hole. Go out to dinner with family. Take in a movie. Or go buy something. Problem is, all those things can cost you money and hit your wallet. The restaurant fare can hit your waistline if you're not careful. So can the brews and driving after one too many will land you in trouble. One solution is to celebrate by going home ( or to a good friend's ) and stripping to the buff. Perfect way to enjoy something special and end your day. The Platypus is celebrating right now. Hope you can celebrate too. Cheers!

When our kids were young we had them in karate lessons. We had them in for a couple years too. Paying each month and watching them in their cute uniforms, proudly advancing through various colors of belts. I started to have second thoughts, however, as I watched some "advanced" brown belts training for their senior brown belt, which was just below black belt.  See, for all the moves they had learned in class and practiced, they really shunned physical contact. And when they made it, it was all very carefully choreographed. IF a sparring partner threw a particular "punch" with a wave of the arm just so, they would block it.  But only as things went according to script. It was obvious when any partner was out of step because, suddenly, their partner became very ineffective at blocking the jab that accidently came from left to right, not right to left. As I watched these particular students, it seemed they had learned more about a peculiar form of line dancing than sel...

With all our efforts to have our favorite form of recreation taken seriously by government and the general public, sometimes we refuse to admit to ourselves that nudity can be downright funny at times. Sometimes... okay maybe a lot of times... the humor comes from getting a bit risque.  There's an opening nude sequence to the Austin Powers sequel that gets more and more hilarious as various props are pressed into service to cover his bum and his "wedding tackle" (his term not ours).  There are occasional puns and double entendre just too good to pass up. One prominent nudist from the Midwest used to lighten up tense meetings by saying "but you shouldn't say that in s nudist club." E.G when a meeting went over schedule snd someone said, "this is getting long," she would chime in, "but you shoulfn't say that in a nudist club..." to a laughing tired group. Other nudity is more innocent but no less capable of producing a chuckle.  When, w...

We were doing some New Year's cleaning around the old Platypus homestead and came across our dated edition of The North American Guide to Nude Recreation.  As we spent a few minutes thumbing through the pages, it brought back memories of clubs that no longer exist, as well as places that have changed names.  Many of the most recent places are not listed, of course.  The book is nearly 20 years old. In addition to the changes among places to go within the U.S and Canada, what struck us most were the pictures.  People were smiling with what seemed to be genuine smiles.  People from all walks of life. Grandparents with their grandkids.  Overweight people.  People with scars, gray hair, and balding hair.  And people who clearly loved their pets too. Maybe this is going to sound hypocritical coming from a blog that has only cartoon mascots for pictures, but we miss the spirit that made coffee table books like The North American Guide and Lee Baxandall'...

Sure, it's below zero in many parts of the U.S. today and there are snow storms bound for many places too.  Even the deep South is going through a cold snap.  But don't let that stop you from enjoying your own skin.  Here are some ideas: 1. Pick a room in your house - a small one if you need to be extra energ� conscious - and put some extra insulating plastic over any windows.  Run an auxilliary heater to keep it nice and toasty.  Dub it your 'naked room' and enjoy; 2. Gather round the "hearth" of your home (the electric stove), lower the door, turn on the oven and sip some hot cocoa in the buff right nearby; 3. Light a fire in that fireplace (if you have one), lay down a sleeping bag in front (or even better a 'bearskin rug') and it can become very awesome to stretch out; 4. Go for a brisk walk in your bundled up clothes.  When you get back inside, you'll seem much warmer and can enjoy a few stolen minutes until the house seems chilly again; 5.  A...

When you maintain a blog as long as the Platypus has been doing you take topics as you find them at times so that you always have stuff to write about. Anyhow, in our part of the country the dating website eHarmony has ramped up advertising lately. Maybe it's a New Year's resolution market they're going after like the quit smoking and weight loss plans. You know, things to do in 2014... find a mate. That sort of thing. Or maybe people get lonely over holidays and ponder the dating decision. So it is that eHarmony is running ads with the "This could be an everlasting love" soundtrack. The voice over says that more than 560, 000 people have married people they met on the site since it began. Wow. More than half a million marriages. Not dates. We're talking "I do's." That got the Platypus wondering if any of the marriages were of nudists and whether any nudists who met a non nudist on site talked them into it.  We'll preface by saying we have be...

Welcome to 2014 everyone! What better way to start off the new year than "dressed" like the baby new year... that is, in your birthday suit.  You can wear a top hat and sash, we suppose, but it's the naked part that's most important. Plan to spend more time sans clothes over the next twelve months. Watch tv starkers when you watch.  Be sure to sleep nude. Take a "selfie" nude pic even if it's just for you. Try to eat right.  Post to a nudist blog. Add a bare twist to family game nights. Please plan to read the Platypus gfrom time to time this year.  Vote in our polls.  We'll try to keep the posts and topics going for ya...