Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Curiosity.com.

I'm Ashley Hamer.

And I'm Natalia Reagan.

Today, Cody Cassidy is back to talk about the dirty, smelly history of soap.

You also learn about a bias that makes people believe poor people have thicker skin

and how good anxiety can help you get things done.

Let's satisfy some curiosity.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, we've never been more aware of how important soap is to our health.

Hand washing kills germs, which means it can help prevent infections,

avoid food contamination,

it's even been linked to higher school attendance.

But we've had soap for way longer than we've known about germs.

So what made us invent the stuff in the first place?

Today, Cody Cassidy is back to give us the answer.

He's the author of the new book, Who Eight the First Oyster?

The Extraordinary People Behind The greatest firsts in history,

which uncovers the geniuses behind many of history's forgotten innovations and world-turning

inventions, from the person who wore the first pants, to the Stone Age physician who performed the first surgery.

Here he is on the grimy history of soap.

It's something we've always sort of taken for granted.

It first showed up probably in an ancient times when people understood that you could use ash, which is a kind of lie from a fire and clean off a greasy plate or something because it would combine with the

fat and create a sort of mild subonification effect. But it wasn't first made until intentionally made

...