Saturday, June 1, 2013

Interesting and Fun Facts About the History of Soap



1. The earliest users of soaps were the Celts who referred to it as “saipo”. Not much of a difference in its name, huh?!

2. The first soaps were made by boiling oil from the olive plant or tallow {animal fat} with lye water leached from ashes of wood fire to dryness.

3. Early soaps were mainly used for cleaning clothes and not so much on the bodies.

4. The first civilization to use soap on the bodies were the Romans who, then, spread the soapmaking and using skills all through Europe.

5. Soap making was concentrated around Marseilles and later spread to Genoa and Venice.

6. Around the 13th and 14th centuries, soap was considered a revenue source by the British government and it was taxed.

7. The manufacturing of good quality soap started only around the 18th century when it was discovered how to make large quantities of caustic soda.

8. Pears Soap dates back to 1789 and by 1700, there were over 63 soap companies in London.

9. By 1890, there were many types of soaps available and the 5 big soap companies included Colgate, Albert, Morse Taylor, Pears and Bailey.

10. According to a 2009 survey conducted by Soap magazine(yes, there is a magazine named Soap), the world production of soap is around 10,000,000,000 Ib. per year (of which the U. S. makes and uses about one-third).

No comments:

Post a Comment