Tuesday, of course, is laundry day, and laundry day is quite often a time to decode the semantics and syntax of my clothes in an attempt to understand the body beneath them. After the final two black socks were paired, folded, and placed on the bottom shelf in the closet, I turned to put my underwear on the same shelf. But there was only one pair: white Calvin Klein boxer briefs with a snap button to close the fly.

Seven days of laundry easily translates into 7 to 9 shirts, 10 – 15 socks, an old pair of blue jeans, a couple of bandanas, workout shorts, and perhaps some khakis or pants. But what does it mean when I wear only one pair of underwear per week? Am I “as free as a bird”? Why does anyone wear underwear at all?

No, I didn’t wear the same underwear for the past 7 days. Instead, there was just one day this past week that I wore any underwear.

How many pair of underwear do you wear in one week?