5 ms·

"The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soap-like materials dates back to around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon." [1] Soap is not a modern invention an

by avian 7y ago

"The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soap-like materials dates back to around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon." [1] Soap is not a modern invention and its usefulness in cleaning was recognized way before modern knowledge about diseases. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap#Ancient_Middle_East https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap#Ancient_Middle_East

new2628 7y ago
And arguably, soaps available in shops are getting worse with every iteration. Enter a big store in most of the developed world, and you can hardly find a regular soap bar anymore (only liquids, "hydrating bars", etc.). Craft markets still have them luckily.
- reidjs 7y ago
  Curious as to why you prefer regular soap bar over liquid soap?
  - new2628 7y ago
    With liquid soap I always feel like I can never fully remove it from my skin, no matter how long I rinse it with water afterwards. With a soap bar my hands just feel cleaner, less greasy. They also last longer and are easier to store/transport, need less packaging, etc. Also basic soap bars have two or three main ingredients whose effects are fully understood and have been used for centuries if not millenia. The list of components of the latest liquid soaps is far more obscure, no-one knows their long-term effects on us and the environment.
- AngryData 7y ago
  Many of those are likely detergents rather than soaps because it is less harsh on your skin and thus easier to market and sell. I hate moisturizers and greasy bullshit or whatever else in soap though which is a lot of liquid soaps.
  - oska 7y ago
    Detergent is more harsh on your skin than (real) soap.
DantesKite 7y ago
Reminds me of Jonathan Blow's observation that knowledge doesn't necessarily make it to the next generation and progress is sometimes lost. https://youtu.be/pW-SOdj4Kkk https://youtu.be/pW-SOdj4Kkk
omarhaneef 7y ago
I hope you see you’re making my point. Soap without the hygiene practices isn’t soap with hygiene practices. And those practices are predicated on a theory of germs

by avian 7y ago

new2628 7y ago

And arguably, soaps available in shops are getting worse with every iteration. Enter a big store in most of the developed world, and you can hardly find a regular soap bar anymore (only liquids, "hydrating bars", etc.). Craft markets still have them luckily.

reidjs 7y ago
Curious as to why you prefer regular soap bar over liquid soap?
- new2628 7y ago
  With liquid soap I always feel like I can never fully remove it from my skin, no matter how long I rinse it with water afterwards. With a soap bar my hands just feel cleaner, less greasy. They also last longer and are easier to store/transport, need less packaging, etc. Also basic soap bars have two or three main ingredients whose effects are fully understood and have been used for centuries if not millenia. The list of components of the latest liquid soaps is far more obscure, no-one knows their long-term effects on us and the environment.
AngryData 7y ago
Many of those are likely detergents rather than soaps because it is less harsh on your skin and thus easier to market and sell. I hate moisturizers and greasy bullshit or whatever else in soap though which is a lot of liquid soaps.
- oska 7y ago
  Detergent is more harsh on your skin than (real) soap.

DantesKite 7y ago

Reminds me of Jonathan Blow's observation that knowledge doesn't necessarily make it to the next generation and progress is sometimes lost. https://youtu.be/pW-SOdj4Kkk https://youtu.be/pW-SOdj4Kkk

omarhaneef 7y ago

I hope you see you’re making my point. Soap without the hygiene practices isn’t soap with hygiene practices. And those practices are predicated on a theory of germs