The dope on soap

Yes, one more thing we take for granted. Or, as I used to think, “granite.”

So here a ten things to consider.

1. Soap goes way back in antiquity, starting with the boiling of fats with ashes and water, though the Latin word for it originates with “clay.”
2. It’s been a mark of civilized people and sometimes the upper classes, from Babylon and Rome on.
3. Over the years, olive, palm, and vegetable oils gave rise to other varieties, including Castille soap.
4. Today, soap comes either in solid form, liquid, or powdered form, based on their use of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Liquid is considered easiest to use.
5. Bar soaps have a lower environmental impact, according to one study.
6. It’s sold in a number of specialty applications, including hand, face, shaving, body, dish, laundry, or floor-cleaning applications. Don’t overlook antibacterial, either, although it carries some long-term health concerns. Or the wide range of scents that can be infused.
7. Ivory, first marketed in 1879, was the first soap that floated. Yeah, and it was 99 and 44/100s percent pure, according to the company’s claims.
8. Modern synthetics, appearing around 1940 with Tide, also prevented the growth of germs.
9. Soap can also be used to ease zippers or lubricate squeaky hinges, threading needles, and screws.
10. The bubbles are incredibly thin and sometimes so much fun. Or even romantic, in a deep bathtub.

Maybe that’s what I’ll be giving everyone this Christmas.