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A soap dish is a shallow, open container or platform where a bar of
soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...
may be placed to dry after use. Soap dishes are usually located in or near a
sink A sink (also known as ''basin'' in the UK) is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supplies hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for fas ...
,
shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers are set up to have adjustable temperature, spray pressure and showerhead nozzle angle. The si ...
, or
bathtub A bathtub, also known simply as a bath or tub, is a container for holding water in which a person or another animal may Bathing, bathe. Most modern bathtubs are made of thermoformed Acrylic resin, acrylic, porcelain enamel, porcelain-enameled s ...
. Most soap dishes are made from waterproof materials such as plastic, ceramic, metal, or glass, though some are made from
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
. A china
saucer A saucer is a type of small dishware. While in the Middle Ages a saucer was used for serving condiments and sauces, currently the term is used to denote a small plate or shallow bowl that supports a cup – usually one used to serve coffee t ...
or
sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...
may serve as a soap dish. A soap dish accommodates bar soap, whereas a soap dispenser accommodates
liquid soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually used for washing, b ...
or foam soap.


Design elements

Elements in the
design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
of a soap dish include safety, ventilation, cleanliness, placement,
aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...
, and cost. When a soap dish is part of a bath accessories set, a coordinated group design may be utilized. Notable soap dish designs include Leonard L Hierath's May 2018 US Patent #US-9962042 Article Support (soap dish) US Patent and Trademark Office; Robert A. Pitton's 1956 US patent for a reversible, hemispherical soap dish and Bernard Cohen's October 2017 design for the "SoapAnchor" (patent pending).


Safety

Because of their intended use in wet and potentially hazardous environments, most soap dishes are designed with safety in mind. Such features include unbreakable materials, non-slip surfaces, rounded edges, and secure installation elements (e.g., wall mount hardware, a
suction cup A suction cup, also known as a sucker, is a device or object that uses the negative Pressure#Fluid pressure, fluid pressure of air or water to adhere to Porosity, nonporous surfaces, creating a Vacuum, partial vacuum. Suction cups occur in nat ...
, or non-skid feet). Depositing or retrieving a slippery bar of soap is facilitated by an open (or semi-open) sided design or by a shallow lip.


Ventilation

A bar of wet soap relies on ventilation to dry. A number of design elements may be used to increase ambient
airflow Airflow, or air flow, is the movement of air. Air behaves in a fluid manner, meaning particles naturally flow from areas of higher pressure to those where the pressure is lower. Atmospheric air pressure is directly related to altitude, temperat ...
around the soap, including vented surfaces or surfaces interspersed with bumps, ridges, or slats. Mechanical ventilation has not yet become a widespread design element in soap dishes.


Cleanliness

Because of their association with
hand washing Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap, soap or handwash and water to remove viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, dirt, grease, and other harmful or unwanted substances stuck to th ...
and
hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
, soap dishes themselves are often the focus of cleanliness. To aid in cleanup, some self-draining soap dishes are designed to allow soapy residue to collect in a compartment below the raised bar of soap. Other such soap dishes funnel the soapy residue directly to the adjacent sink or bathtub, necessitating strategic placement of the soap dish.


Placement

Most soap dishes are standalone accessories whose placement is at the user's discretion, though some are a built-in feature of a sink, shower, or bathtub. Standalone soap dishes may be entirely portable or may include options for semi-permanent or permanent installation on a horizontal or vertical surface. Locating a soap dish outside the perimeter of a faucet's or showerhead's stream helps the soap to avoid excess
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
.


Aesthetics

Though utilitarian in purpose, soap dishes may be given aesthetic treatment. A soap dish in the form of a whale, for example, was patented in 1961 by Sonia Adelson, with "the mouth portion thereof being adapted to receive and dispense a bar of soap in an amusing, novel and useful manner". Another example is the "
Bodoni Bodoni (, ) is the name given to the serif typefaces first designed by Giambattista Bodoni (1740–1813) in the late eighteenth century and frequently revived since. Bodoni's typefaces are classified as Didone (typography), Didone or modern. Bo ...
Soap Dish", a February 2013 design by David Strauss that was inspired by the legacy of Massimo Vignelli.


History

A soap dish played a role in a seminal event in the 7th century when Byzantine Emperor
Constans II Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist unti ...
(630-668) was assassinated with one. A classified ad that appeared on 25 March 1820 in the ''Sydney ustraliaGazette and New South Wales Advertiser'' lists auction items that include soap dishes. The
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
gives a later "first evidence of use" for the term ''soap-dish'' as 1837 (in ''
The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...
'' by
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
). A pewter soap dish made in Meriden, Connecticut between 1807 and 1835 is in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
. An 1887 medical journal discusses an operating table that includes a built-in soap dish and an 1892 book on
industrial arts Industrial arts is an educational program that features the fabrication of objects in wood or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools. Industrial Arts are commonly referred to as Technology Education. It may include small engine ...
shows a soap dish attachment for a scrub bucket. A toy porcelain soap dish likely from the 1890s was unearthed by archaeologist Laurie A. Wilkie at the Oakley Plantation in Louisiana. Wilkie explains in detail the facts surrounding this soap dish that led her to interpret it to be "a little material embodiment of someone's love for a child". By the late 19th century, Sears Roebuck & Company was influencing the spread of the soap dish in American households. A pocket-sized metal soap dish emblazoned with two crossed swords that were in use during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914-1918) is in the special collections of the
Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...
. In 1919, Witter Bynner immortalized a soap dish in his poem entitled ''I Evade,'' which is reproduced here in its entirety: "The look in your eyes / Was as soft as the underside of soap in a soap-dish … / And I left before you could love me." A gold-plated soap dish was one of over 60 artifacts from
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
's private airport and palace that were returned to Iraq by the US government in March 2015 as part of an Iraqi national project to preserve its cultural heritage.


References


External links

* * {{Wikibooks-inline, Soap Containers Domestic implements