Must be washed before using....

Recently I watched as a friend unsealed a hermetically sealed package of undershirts for her husband. She asked him if he would like to have them washed before he wore them. This was somewhat baffling to me, as they were sealed (no one had used them) and they were soft cotton (no washing to soften the fabric up). I then posed the question....

What must be washed before the initial use?

My list:

Towels
Sheets

Both my friend and her husband said they agreed yet, you must wash underwear as well. This was intriguing because you are not allowed to try on underwear before purchase and depending on where you buy your unmentionables, it would be clear that they are soft and unused. It is also a strict policy of most stores to not accept said underwear as returns, even with the tags attached and still on the hanger. So in the next couple of weeks I am going to participate in a test where several pairs of panties will be removed from their hangers and rehung. If I can spot the pairs that are rehung, I will stick with the not washing of new panties. My premise is that it is completely impossible to rehang a pair of panties correctly on one of those flimsy plastic hangers. Therefore if there were a pair that somehow were tested for correct fitness on another women's parts I would be able to spot them and avoid them completely. If I can not spot the rehung pair...well I will run screaming "EWWWWWE!" from the store and vow to wash everything preusing.