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Are some soaps better than others?

CrowdScience tackles an array of soapy questions: how was it discovered in the first place, what else is used for washing around the world - and what's the most effective soap?

These days we鈥檙e more acquainted with soap than ever before, as we lather up to help stop the spread of coronavirus. And for CrowdScience listener Sharon, this set off a steady stream of soapy questions: how does soap actually work? How was it discovered in the first place, long before anyone knew anything about germs? Are different things used for washing around the world, and are some soaps better than others?
We set up a CrowdScience home laboratory to explore the soap making process with advice from science-based beauty blogger Dr Michelle Wong, and find out what it is about soap鈥檚 chemistry that gives it its germ-fighting superpowers. Soap has been around for at least 4000 years; we compare ancient soap making to modern methods, and hear about some of the soap alternatives used around the world, like the soap berries of India.

And as for the question of whether some soaps are better than others? We discover why antibacterial soaps aren鈥檛 necessarily a good idea, and why putting a toy inside a bar of soap might be more important than tweaking its ingredients.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton.
Produced by Cathy Edwards for the 91热爆 World Service.

Image: Child with thoroughly washed hands. Credit: Getty Images.

Available now

34 minutes

Last on

Mon 27 Jul 2020 17:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 24 Jul 2020 19:32GMT
  • Mon 27 Jul 2020 03:32GMT
  • Mon 27 Jul 2020 08:32GMT
  • Mon 27 Jul 2020 12:32GMT
  • Mon 27 Jul 2020 17:32GMT

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