Publisher's Synopsis
In modern times, the use of soap has become universal in industrialized nations due to a better understanding of the role of hygiene in reducing the population size of pathogenic microorganisms. Manufactured bar soaps first became available in the late nineteenth century, and advertising campaigns in Europe and the United States helped to increase popular awareness of the relationship between cleanliness and health. By the 1950s, soap had gained public acceptance as an instrument of personal hygiene.Until the Industrial Revolution, soap-making was done on a small scale and the product was rough. In 1789, Andrew Pears started making a high-quality, transparent soap in London. He and his grandson, Francis Pears, opened a factory in Isleworth in 1862. William Gossage produced low-priced, good quality soap from the 1850s. Robert Spear Hudson began manufacturing a soap powder in 1837, initially by grinding the soap with a mortar and pestle. William Hesketh Lever and his brother James bought a small soap works in Warrington in 1885 and founded what became one of the largest soap businesses, now called Unilever. These soap businesses were among the first to employ large-scale advertising campaigns to sell the output of their factories.Soap usually comes in a solid, molded form, called a bar, based on its typical shape. The use of thick liquid soap has also become widespread, especially from soap dispensers in public washrooms. When applied to a soiled surface, soapy water effectively holds particles in suspension, which can then be rinsed off with clean water.
