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When it was first invented, soap was not highly regarded because it was associated with the lower class. Later, with the development of science and technology, soap was proven by researchers to have very good cleaning effects and was widely used.
Who invented soap?
There are many theories about the origin of soap.
First hypothesis leaning towards an event 3,000-4,500 years ago in the historical land of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia (today’s southern Iraq). At that time, the textile industry in Sumer was very developed and was the place to supply fabric to most countries in the Mesopotamian region.
Soap is no longer strange to people around the world. When the Covid-19 pandemic appeared, soap was even more important because it can kill and wash away bacteria on the surface – (Photo: GETTY IMAGES).
Sumer at that time had many large-scale manufacturing centers with more than 10,000 workers and hundreds of thousands of sheep kept for their wool. Normally, to dye wool properly, weavers had to remove the lanolin fat from the wool before dyeing it, which had to be done by hand.
The cutting, sewing, dyeing and production of woolen textiles were mainly done by women. One day, Ninisina – a girl who historians believe was one of the craftsmen – accidentally noticed that drops of fat from sheep’s wool fell on a pile of charcoal and formed into lumps. These lumps, when mixed with water, created foam and quickly washed away other stains.
That is the simplest and most primitive recipe for making soap. Then, the “soap” This is used by weavers to clean their textiles.
Second hypothesis According to historical researchers, around 600 BC in the ancient Roman Empire, a group of women “accidentally discovered” It turns out that clothes washed in the Tiber River at the foot of Sapo (Rome) are much cleaner than those washed in other rivers. That is because a layer of ash and animal fat poured from the shrines of the gods located on the hilltop, combined with the river water to create a special detergent.
Names “saponification”“soap” (“soap” in English or “savon” in French) is derived from the name of the hill next to Sapo citadel.
The practice of using wood ash combined with animal fat for cleaning also appeared in ancient Spain and England.
300 years later, an Egyptian chemist, Zosimos of Panopilos, invented the soap-making process. This recipe was gradually spread to many other countries by explorers, pilgrims and traders.
From something neglected to something everyone needs
When it first appeared, soap was not highly regarded, although researchers proved that it had excellent cleaning properties. It was not until the 8th century that an Arab intellectual, Jabir Ibn Hayyan, made the first records of using soap for bathing.
The reason is that it was mainly used for cleaning stains on floors, washing clothes and other items, not for washing hands. Especially since this labor was often done by slaves, soap was unintentionally equated with the lower class.
In the early days, soap making was an exclusive technique practiced by only small groups of manufacturers.
Another factor that prevents people from washing their hands with soap is that it is very expensive.
In the early days, soap making was an exclusive technique practiced by only a small group of producers. Over time, soap making recipes became more widely known, but it was still expensive because the main ingredients, animal fats and vegetable oils, were not always available.
Soap prices dropped dramatically in 1791 when a Frenchman named LeBlanc discovered a chemical process that made soap cheaper.
More than 20 years later, another Frenchman discovered the relationship between glycerin, fats, and acids, marking the beginning of modern soap making. With 1,800 methods of making soap ingredients invented later, soap became a popular product.
Soaps were originally prepared by saponification reaction to produce sodium (hard soap/bar) or potassium (soft soap) salts. Both of these soaps form precipitates with calcium and magnesium ions and are therefore not washable in hard water.
Later, soaps made from petroleum overcame this drawback.
Since the mid-19th century, soap has been divided into many product lines for different purposes such as laundry soap, hand soap, dish soap… with various soft and cake forms.
By the 1970s, liquid hand soap was invented and has become extremely useful today.
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