What are 'inside' and 'outside clothes'? Hoda and Jenna explain and debate

While some crave a hot shower and a fresh set of clothes after a long flight or a ride on the subway, not everyone feels compelled to slip into something clean when they get home — and TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager are here to talk about it.

A recent Washington Post article explores the concept of "outside clothes" and "inside clothes" and divides people into one of two camps: Those who feel the need to shower or change clothes after a flight, a trip on public transportation or really any visit outside, and those who do not.

Naturally, people have a lot of strong feelings, and co-hosts Hoda and Jenna couldn't wait to weigh in on the debate.

During a Feb. 2 episode of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, Hoda said she understands why people would want to change into something more comfortable when they get home after a long day of work, but admitted she was struggling with the reason being because of cleanliness.

“There’s another reason people are (changing clothes when they get home), because they don’t want to bring the outside germs inside their home apparently. I don’t understand that,” Hoda said.

Jenna, however, said she totally understands why people feel the need to change their clothes after a flight, which she refers to as "plane clothes."

"You're flying home, your hair is kind of dirty, your whole body has been sitting in crumbs," Jenna started.

"Whatever you're sitting in, and the person before was sitting there, you stand up, you come home (after the flight). Do you get right in bed?" Jenna asked, then continued, "And then it’s like Haley (Hoda's daughter) is like, 'Come put me in bed.' Do you lay in bed next to her in your plane clothes?"

"Yes," Hoda said.

Jenna shook her head in disagreement and Hoda then turned the tables on her co-host.

"OK, let me ask you this, miss thing. You go to a movie and you sit in your chair and you eat your crummy popcorn and it’s all over you and you go home. Do you go into your house and sit on your child’s bed?" Hoda asked.

"Probably I would change, from a very public place, like an airplane or a movie theater or a trampoline park," Jenna replied.

Hoda was then curious to know if Jenna would change her clothes after traveling on the bus or subway, and Jenna said, "I think when I got home I at least (would do) a very extensive wash."

Jenna then asked Hoda if she washes her hands after she gets off the subway.

"No," Hoda replied.

Jenna looked pretty shocked and said, "You don’t wash your hands after you hold the pole and you get out of the subway?"

"You know what, all these germaphobes," Hoda joked.

"But you have to tell me something for real," Jenna said. "You hold the pole, you touch the plastic seat, you get off and you go put your hand in the Cheez-Its?"

"I mean, I might wash my hands sometimes. I don’t think, 'I better go in right now and (wash my hands).' I don’t think that. I just come in and have my day at home," Hoda explained.

Hoda turned the conversation to Jenna at this point and asked if she washes her hands when she comes home from work each day. Jenna said she does, then Hoda asked if she washes her hands every time she walks in the door.

"If I’ve been somewhere nasty, absolutely," Jenna said.

"Well, what's nasty? Work? Look, I don’t think you do," Hoda said. "I’m gonna ask (Henry Hager, Jenna's husband)."

Jenna went on to explain that Henry is a bit of a germaphobe.

"If you got into bed with him, which would be weird anyway, but after you’ve been in a plane, he would be like, he would tell you to change and then you might be irritated," Jenna said.

If you’re a fan of “The Big Bang Theory,” the concept of “indoor clothes” and “outdoor clothes” is nothing new. In fact, you’ll likely recall a scene where Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) explains the concept of “bus pants” to his friend Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki).

“They are pants one wears over one’s regular pants when one sits on bus seats that other people have previously sat on,” he says nonchalantly in an episode.

To end the segment on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, Hoda pointed out what an infection expert told the Washington Post about whether there are potential dangers to not changing your clothes when you get home.

"For the most part, the germs on clothes are not harmful," she said.

Alas, wearing clothes in your house after you’ve worn them in a very public place might not be harmful to your physical health, even if it grosses you out.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com