Lost Art of Mystery

Sometimes I wonder.

I wonder about so many things.

Lately I wonder about disposable undergarments.

When I shop for my elderly mother who has dementia, I wander down aisles in big box stores, marveling at the sheer variety of incontinence underwear for ladies and men. This aisle is adjacent to the baby aisle with its own wide array of pampers.

I scour online for the most cost effective bulk purchase of said undergarments. Prior to my current experience as a caregiver, I had no idea about these things. Also I didn’t have kids, so diapers were never a big part of my life. One time I did meet a man who told me he was into ‘dressing as a baby’, but that was a “hard no” for me and I never got to find out how deep into diapers he was.

Anyhow, this disposable underwear thing has me wondering. A lot. Are these things biodegradable? Why do so many people wear them? I understand elderly needing them, and those with physical issues, but the boxes in the store feature photos of ‘youngish’ men golfing, and women who appear to be backpacking or on vacay. I’m wondering how many people are wearing these things just out of some sort of ‘convenience’.

Most of all I wonder where all of this shit (no pun intended) goes. We throw them in the trash and then what? Do they just go to landfills? Do they dissolve? Is there risk involved dropping dirty undies out in nature? Can they contaminate our water supply? What happens if a wild animal ingests one?

Are they going to be found in massive landfills on an archeological dig in the future? And if so, what will they think of us?

I wonder.