Lake – there were litvishe yidden who did the same. There’s a famous joke in yeshivos; what happens if your shtikel torah is upshlugged – are you mekayam shalosh seudos or not?
But this was done by people who either couldn’t stop learning in the middle of the day, or didn’t have enough food. It wasn’t a widespread, community wide practice; it was yechidim. Chabad decided that no one should wash.