Slithery and Blue

Vaishnavi Sridhar tunes in to a chat between a bathing bar and a detergent bar

Slithery inches close to the steel goal post with holes. The human goalie trying to stop it unsuccessfully. And there, goal,” said Blue, the commentator. 

“Wee. Like a hockey puck I slide, On the tiles I slither, Just watch me glide,” sang Slithery.

Slithery was a bath soap bar that lived in a soap box usually. The only times it got some adventure was when a human used it for a bath. At other times, it sat in the box chatting with its friend Blue, a detergent soap bar. 

One day, Blue was deep in thought. “What are you thinking, Blue?” asked Slithery. “I help wash stains from clothes. Make them bright, nice, and clean. Ketchup, mud, colour, oil, you name it, and I can clean it. But I don’t slide as much as you do. I wonder why?” asked Blue.

“Blue, all of us cleaning agents are made of chemicals that help clean dirt. Then there are the add-ons. The nice smell, the sparkles, the cool colours, the things that make one’s skin soft, and others. Also, many cleaning agents have chemicals that kill microbes,” said Slithery.

“The cleaning part is called a surfactant. It helps water spread. Water will form blobs and sit on surfaces. But adding soap helps it spread. After all water is required to wash off dirt,” it added. “Aah yes. The human usually soaks the cloth in water and then uses me to clean it,” said Blue.

“Exactly. This surfactant is made of water-loving and water-hating parts. When we use soap and water to wash off something, the surfactant molecules make dirt traps. In these dirt traps, the water-hating parts trap the dirt. The water-loving parts make it easy to lift the dirt off the surface. And some detergents contain special enzymes that breakdown different types of dirt,” said Slithery.

“We both are similar in various ways. But there are differences too. For example, we both are made differently and are made of different things. We, bath soaps, are made from natural oils and fats. These are boiled with a chemical called sodium hydroxide. To make liquid soaps, another chemical is used. That is why they are softer on the skin and lather more. On the other hand, detergent soaps like you are made from manmade chemicals in industries,” it added.

“Oh, that is so cool. Yes, my siblings and I were made in those giant pots in the industry. When we were formed fully, we slid down a belt, got a tattoo, and got clothed in a packet. After sitting in the store for some time, this human picked me up,” said Blue.

“Yes, that was the case for me too,” said Slithery. “Now Blue, cloth detergents like you were made to remove the toughest of stains. You can be used in any kind of water. We, soaps, form a sticky white thing when we are used with water that has a lot of minerals. And in water with less minerals, we lather a lot. But you all can be washed off easily in that kind of water too. You were designed to slide less,” it added.

“Oh. So, I slide less because that is how I am made. That feels good. I always thought that I was uncool and had a defect,” said Blue. “Each of us are unique, Blue. Don’t forget, we help humans by killing and washing harmful microbes and dirt. During a recent pandemic, humans were advised to use soap and water to wash hands. Rinse, lather, repeat. The alcohol-containing hand sanitisers, sure did become the rage though. They kill microbes and you don’t even need to wash them off. Or even those sanitising sprays and wipes. But there is more fun in using us and we are way softer on the skin,” said Slithery.

“But what did humans use before we were invented?” asked Blue. “Blue, they used plants that act as natural surfactants, like soap nut or reetha or shikakai, or clay or ash or herbal water or just water. The idea was to remove the dirt and to be clean. These natural products are used in some soaps and shampoo today too,” said Slithery.

“Wow. And there are so many varieties of cleaning agents these days. The OG bath soap bars like you, cloth detergent bars like me, our liquid versions, sanitisers, cleaning agents for different surfaces, and the list goes on,” said Blue. 

“Yes, Blue. But we soap bars will be the original cleansers and no one can replace us. Yet one day, lather by lather, we will vanish. Still the show will go on. The human will bring another Slithery, another Blue. Maybe the same, or maybe another kind,” said Slithery.