Are some soaps better than others?
CrowdScience
BBC
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2020
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
These days we’re 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’s 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’t 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 BBC World Service.
Image: Child with thoroughly washed hands. Credit: Getty Images.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:30.3 | You're listening to Crowd Science from the BBC World Service. I'm Marnie Chesterton and as the host of this science show, I've had the privilege to see some extraordinary things all in the course of answering your questions. |
| 0:45.8 | Today is no exception. |
| 0:48.0 | I'm holding in my hand an incredibly special chemical. During this pandemic, it will have saved countless lives. |
| 0:56.0 | The SARS-Cov-2 virus is destroyed by this precious substance. |
| 1:01.0 | And it's not just coronavirus. I'd hazard that since its |
| 1:05.1 | invention this compound has saved something like a billion people. And no, it's not |
| 1:11.5 | some new wonder drug if you you need a hint, this particular variation also smells |
| 1:17.2 | of roses and it gets my hands clean. |
| 1:20.8 | Yes, this week we're exploring soap. In a year where we're being bombarded with |
| 1:25.8 | messages to wash our hands, Crown Science listener Sharon in the US state of |
| 1:30.3 | South Carolina has been in touch. |
| 1:33.0 | When the pandemic started and going to the grocery store |
| 1:36.0 | and one of the things that you just couldn't find was hand soap |
| 1:40.0 | and it got me thinking this virus has sort of brought us all to our knees, but it can be killed by soap. |
| 1:47.0 | And so I started wondering about when people |
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