HISTORY OF SOAP: The 2022 Farmers’ Almanac has an interesting article titled “The History of Soap: It’s scent-sational!”

Author Jim Kneiszel put together a timeline of soap, ranging from the ancient Babylonians to today’s $22 billion industry worldwide.

Kneiszel notes that the Babylonians in 2800 BC had cylinders marked “fats boiled with ashes,” which archeologists believe was the starting point for the vast array of soaps we use today. A document found in ancient Egypt described a mixture of animal fat, vegetable fat and alkaline salt and indicated it was used for washing.

A Roman legend states that animals were regularly sacrificed on Mount Sapo, and the fats from the animals mixed with ashes from the fire at the altar and ran into a river where women washed clothes, providing assistance in their cleaning efforts. This is where the idea for soap for clothing was born.

The article talks about the waxing and waning popularity of soap through the ages. This includes the Middle Ages, when medical experts at that time believed bathing spread illness. This in turn led to a transition to relying on perfumes rather than baths to improve one’s personal aroma.

The trends made a 180 again by 1800, when French Chemist Nicholas LaBlanc found a way to use common salt in the manufacturing process and soap was able to be mass marketed, one of the first products to have that distinction.

A fun tip included with the story is the following: Buy large bars of soap on sale and store them unwrapped. This allows the soap to harden and therefore extend the period it can be used. An additional benefit is that the closet will gain an appealing aroma as well.

For more information and handy tips, check out www.farmersalmanac.com.