The Global Effect of the Invention of Soap
Cheslee Morgan
Felux Period 4
January/February 2013
“If I rub my hands with it, soap foams, exults…
The more complaisant it makes them, supple,
Smooth, docile, the more slobbers, the more
Its rage becomes voluminous, pearly…
Magic Stone!
The more it forms with air and water
Clusters of scented grapes,
Explosive…
Water, air and soap
Overlap, play
At leapfrog, form
Combinations less chemical than
Physical, gymnastical, acrobatical
Rhetorical?
There is much to say about soap.”
--Francis Ponge, Italian Renaissance Literature, “Soap.” The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy.
Soap; such a simple word with a huge meaning. Oxford dictionary defines soap as, “a substance used with water for washing and cleaning, made of a compound of natural oils or fats with sodium hydroxide.” And that is just it. Soap, although simple, is also so very complex, and used to improve so much. Soap is commercially and socially used for cleaning and sanitation and has had a very significant impact on the health of the overall world. Although the very first usage and production of soap was never officially documented, it is said to be possible that soap could have been discovered/used in as far back as early prehistoric times. Though the creation of soap is a very old process, typically in early civilizations, it was not widely used by the peoples of those specific times. Even in modern times the lack of soap has caused epidemics of small, and sometimes even large, proportions. Juergen Eichholtz, states, “In Europe alone, the annually recurring influenza epidemics or severe virus epidemics could be tackled through improved hygiene. The EHEC epidemic in Germany in 2011, or the recently imported Noro virus from China which paralyzed many students in German primary schools, clearly demonstrate the need for regular hand washing with soap.” Washing your hands with soap is so quick and simple, yet so often neglected. Many epidemics in the early history before
Felux Period 4
January/February 2013
“If I rub my hands with it, soap foams, exults…
The more complaisant it makes them, supple,
Smooth, docile, the more slobbers, the more
Its rage becomes voluminous, pearly…
Magic Stone!
The more it forms with air and water
Clusters of scented grapes,
Explosive…
Water, air and soap
Overlap, play
At leapfrog, form
Combinations less chemical than
Physical, gymnastical, acrobatical
Rhetorical?
There is much to say about soap.”
--Francis Ponge, Italian Renaissance Literature, “Soap.” The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy.
Soap; such a simple word with a huge meaning. Oxford dictionary defines soap as, “a substance used with water for washing and cleaning, made of a compound of natural oils or fats with sodium hydroxide.” And that is just it. Soap, although simple, is also so very complex, and used to improve so much. Soap is commercially and socially used for cleaning and sanitation and has had a very significant impact on the health of the overall world. Although the very first usage and production of soap was never officially documented, it is said to be possible that soap could have been discovered/used in as far back as early prehistoric times. Though the creation of soap is a very old process, typically in early civilizations, it was not widely used by the peoples of those specific times. Even in modern times the lack of soap has caused epidemics of small, and sometimes even large, proportions. Juergen Eichholtz, states, “In Europe alone, the annually recurring influenza epidemics or severe virus epidemics could be tackled through improved hygiene. The EHEC epidemic in Germany in 2011, or the recently imported Noro virus from China which paralyzed many students in German primary schools, clearly demonstrate the need for regular hand washing with soap.” Washing your hands with soap is so quick and simple, yet so often neglected. Many epidemics in the early history before