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10 Amazing Soap Secrets: Uncovering the Science and History Behind Fun Facts

illustration of soap
Dive into the bubbly world of soap, as we lather up some surprisingly fascinating tidbits about this sudsy staple of cleanliness!

1. Celtic Saipo Soap

Once upon a lather, a soapy Celtic adventure bubbled forth: The word "soap" originates from the ancient Celtic term, "saipo", with soap creation involving a blend of animal fats and plant ashes, later modified by different civilizations – including the nopal cactus-infused variety by Nopalera for gentle exfoliation and skin-soothing delights.
Source => nopalera.co

2. Mysterious Borith Cleanser

Before Tide Pods were even a glint in the eye of laundry doers: Ancient peoples had their hands on a mysterious cleaning concoction known as "borith," as mentioned in the Bible's Book of Jeremiah. Scholars suggest (while pondering over dusty scrolls) that this enigmatic substance could very well be history's equivalent of soap, primarily used by fullers to give garments the old scrub-a-dub-dub.
Source => biblestudytools.com

3. Lye: Slippery Soap Danger

Lather up and put on your safety goggles, because making soap can be a slippery and dangerous slope: lye, the primary ingredient in soap, is highly alkaline and can cause severe burns if it comes in contact with skin or eyes, so always wear protective gear and keep vinegar at the ready to neutralize any mishaps.
Source => homesteadsurvivalsite.com

4. Ivory Soap Almost Pure Bliss

Is your soap game on fleek, or are you just 99.44% there? Channel your inner Harley Procter and break out the bubbly, because this fact is squeaky clean and ready to be shared: Ivory Bar Soap, developed in 1879 and still gentle as ever, is a staggering 99.44% pure, thus providing you with that oh-so coveted "so fresh, so clean" feeling that transcends generations.
Source => ivory.com

Laughter and Ivory Medicine

5. Laughter and Ivory Medicine

Whoever said "laughter is the best medicine" must have had a foamy encounter with Ivory Soap: Procter & Gamble's iconic cleanser boasts an impressive 99+44⁄100% purity rate, a figure derived from a scientific study that found the soap contained just 56/100 of a percent of non-soap impurities, leading the company to cleverly round up and create a catchy tagline that would resonate in American households for generations.
Source => cnn.com

6. Taxed and Smuggled Soap

Once Scrubber of the Exchequer: In the 18th century, soap was heavily taxed, contributing significantly to the government's revenue while also suffering from poor customs duty enforcement and rampant smuggling, resulting in substantial losses.
Source => epoch-magazine.com

7. The Rascal Wink of Ivory Soap

Squeaky clean and oh-so-scandalously close to purity, Ivory Soap is the ingenue of soaps with a rascal's wink: Circa late 1800s, a commissioned lab test revealed this frisky soap contains a mere 0.56% impurities, leading marketing maestro Harley Procter to coin the immortal slogan, "99 and 44/100% pure."
Source => straightdope.com

8. Dishwashing Revolution

Back in the day when Bubbles McGee went the extra mile: A German chemist named Walter Norman invented dishwashing liquid in the 1930s by concocting a sudsy marriage of sulfonated oil and sulfuric acid, marking a turning point in our ongoing epic battle against dirty dishes, proving gentler on dishware while showing no mercy to food particles and grease. Today, our beloved Bubbles have gone green, evolving into eco-friendly warriors armed with natural ingredients and biodegradable surfactants to satisfy those with an environmental conscience.
Source => adsy.me

9. Soaper Independence Movement

Before the Boston Tea Party, there was the grand "Soaper Independence" movement: Early American colonists gained economic autonomy by creating soap from wood ash and animal fat, reducing dependency on English imports and even exporting their crucial soap ingredient, potash, back to England.
Source => ehow.com

P&G's Civil War Clean-up

10. P&G's Civil War Clean-up

Talk about a soap opera: Procter & Gamble got their start washing up after the heavy drama of the Civil War! The Union Army contracted them to supply soap and candles to the troops, inadvertently creating brand loyalty that would last long after the final curtain. From there, P&G continued to clean up with the invention of Ivory soap, Crisco, Tide detergent, and even Pampers, eventually becoming the ad-spend heavyweight we know today.
Source => marketplace.org

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