Photo: Luis Ruiz

What is the longest bath ever taken?

174 hours He pulled out a letter his friend, Nancy, sent to his parents' home in Gary. As Hoffman's eventual world record-breaking shower -- 174 hours, a week and change ending on Jan. 27, 1972 -- began receiving press attention, his mother, Marge, received a call from a reporter.

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It was around the 55th hour of the most legendary shower in Indiana University history that 18-year-old Dave Hoffman's parents found out.

Or was it the 60th?

It's been 50 years, and Hoffman, now retired and living in Indianapolis, kept meticulous records -- including a sign-in sheet of the 1,070 visits he received. But he can't quite remember. "My parents did not know I was doing it until I was in for a couple of days," Hoffman said while seated at his kitchen table with record books, reminders of unpaid university water bills and even hate mail laid out in front of him. He pulled out a letter his friend, Nancy, sent to his parents' home in Gary. As Hoffman's eventual world record-breaking shower -- 174 hours, a week and change ending on Jan. 27, 1972 -- began receiving press attention, his mother, Marge, received a call from a reporter. "And she said 'well, I guess it's just good clean fun,'" Hoffman recalled. "And I thought mom, that sounds perfect." Guinness World Records:From the tallest woman to the biggest sandcastle, these world records were broken in 2021

Making IU famous

The idea, like many great ones before it, came during a party at a college dormitory -- McNutt Bordner 2, to be exact, where Hoffman and his 50 floormates lived. Today, Bordner Hall within McNutt Quad still stands, though it underwent renovations in 2019.

Hoffman remains in touch with several of his floormates to this day.

"We decided we ought to do something to make IU famous, or to make our floor famous," Hoffman said. The floor briefly toyed with the idea of breaking the Guinness World Record for longest amount of time spent on a bus, but that seemed boring. As Hoffman looked at the shower record, he figured he could beat the 168 hours set in 1968. After all, the dorm was known for its excellent hot water quantity. What followed was a shockingly organized planning period for a group of young men still reveling in the twilight of the hippie era. One friend was in charge of public relations, getting first the school paper, then journalists from around the country, interested. News photos kept by Hoffman in a green binder show a wide-eyed teenager, clad in only an IU swimming Speedo, at various stages of the record: holding an Underdog towel, eating a cracker, flashing unspeakably pruned hands. Another friend called Guinness World Records to get the official rules, which included monitoring Hoffman at all times to ensure he stayed under the showerhead in some way. Others gathered supplies, including an air mattress on which Hoffman would sleep for short periods with his head out of the water. The group even secured sponsorship from local restaurants, who sent pizzas and burgers.

Some took notes in his classes -- or pretended to, at least.

The last man to volunteer for service -- a football player named John Jordan, Hoffman recalled -- carried out the unfortunate task of emptying the bucket Hoffman used in lieu of a toilet. Replace Assembly Hall?:IU's home is a college hoops 'mecca', but it was nearly torn down.

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The aquatic endurance test was not without risks.

Dr. Melanie Kingsley is currently an associate professor of dermatology at Indiana University's School of Medicine, director of cosmetic dermatology and laser surgery for IU Health and a good sport for agreeing to be interviewed for this story. Kingsley said prolonged time under the water could cause maceration, chaffing or peeling of the skin, first on the hands and feet and then across the whole body. "That would be very uncomfortable," Kingsley said. "Your skin is so important... you're also breaking down your body's main protection. You can lose control of your body's core temperature or the flow of blood vessels." She cautioned that even typical bathing habits can damage the skin and recommended regular moisturizer use and warm, not hot, showers. In addition to possible skin damage, Kingsley would be concerned about a patient's mental and social health if isolated in the shower for such a long period. The 18-year-old Hoffman and his friends, remarkably, had answers for most of these concerns after a visit to the college's clinic yielded similar advice. "The boys would come in, or girls who were girlfriends, and blow dry my hands and feet and put them in a plastic bag for an hour, so the wrinkles weren't as bad as you'd think," Hoffman said. He got water in his ear at one point, but the former swimmer simply had a friend drain it for him. Someone from the university clinic also came out to check on him during the attempt. Asked if he used petroleum jelly or something else to repel the water, Hoffman said he believed that was the rationale his friends had for slathering his back in butter.

"All it did was break my back out in zits," he said.

'Can't be any dumber'

Because he had to be watched at all times, and other students were often coming and going due to the spectacle of it all, Hoffman said boredom wasn't a major factor. Hoffman and his friends played cards and set up a Nerf basketball hoop -- fitting, he remembered, as legendary coach Bob Knight was in his first year on campus. A women's dormitory at Purdue also did its part against Hoffman's boredom by sending him a book, "The Sensuous Woman," with saucy hand-written notes in the margins. You may enjoy:A new store showcases a tiny piece of man's massive, million-dollar Lego collection Although individual solutions combated the boredom, sleep deprivation, health concerns and other logistics, one answer emerged as a mitigating factor for all ills.

"The beer helped."

A recording of a WTTS radio interview, originally conducted at shower hour 125, included quips from Hoffman and his fellow students. During one long clip, an unidentified voice pushed back on criticism against Hoffman. Sort of. "Sure, it's kind of stupid. I can imagine people saying isn't that silly? Well, think about the goldfish-swallowing days and all the rest of it. Think about the war we've been perpetuating for nine years -- bombing swamp land for nine years. You want to talk about stupid? This kid can't be any dumber in the shower getting clean."

"Thanks. I think," Hoffman responded in his kitchen, half a century later.

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Aftermath

Hoffman left the shower an official record holder. After eating and sleeping very little the entire week, he did what came naturally to the teenager: He hosted a party. "It was a good party -- a memorable party," Hoffman said with a smile.

But did he wear the Speedo?

"No, I believe I changed clothes," Hoffman recalled. "I was never really a Speedo-looking kind of guy." His skin had pruned up, as newspaper photos taken near the end of the shower showed, but Hoffman does not remember any pain or lingering effects.

"Maybe the beer helped with that, too," he said.

Hoffman then enjoyed a brief period of minor local celebrity.

He kept personal letters of congratulations, and even a piece of hate mail -- a note laden with swastikas and anti-Semitic language, incorrectly assuming that Hoffman was Jewish. Letters to the editor and columns in local newspapers alternated between praise and scorn. Some news stories even covered a brief controversy over the amount of water waste -- some 35,000 gallons, as Hoffman remembers it. A few notes from the university asked Hoffman to cover the water costs, originally pegged at $120. He did not. The number was eventually reduced to a more reasonable $35, which he also did not pay. A newspaper cartoon depicted Hoffman climbing out of a box of prunes, and a book of Indiana crossword puzzles released years later included him as a clue. He even received an endorsement offer from Sullivan Mfg. & Sales Corp. for a new shower caddy, but nothing came of it. Hoffman eventually graduated with a degree in business and advertising. He worked at SupeRx drug store before buying the Rain Check Bar at Shadeland Avenue and 38th Street. He is now retired and lives with his wife of 18 years, Kelly Jo. Prior to retirement, he was a manager at the Oaken Barrel in Greenwood, where his staff often boasted of his world record. The record was eventually broken in 1985 by Kevin "Catfish" McCarthy, who spent nearly 341 hours -- two weeks -- in a Buffalo State College shower. His employees offered to set up a shower stall and hot water heater in the corner of the bar to give Hoffman another crack at it.

He refused.

"I'm not going to be a monkey on display for two weeks," Hoffman said. Still, he doesn't mind reminiscing about his 15 minutes as he puts away the various clippings and letters.

"I'm kind of proud of it, in a weird way."

Looking for things to do? Our newsletter has the best concerts, art, shows and more — and the stories behind them Rory Appleton is the pop culture reporter at IndyStar. Contact him at 317-552-9044 and rappleton@indystar.com, or follow him on Twitter at @RoryDoesPhonics.

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