national bubble bath day:

Few things are as soothing and relaxing as a bubble bath. This is especially true if the bather decides to take their bubble bath to the next level using scented bath oils. Because bubbles form an insulating layer on top of the water, bubble baths also tend to stay warmer longer than ordinary baths. With that said, it’s National Bubble Bath Day, which celebrates the joys of these baths.

history of the bubble bath:

Although soap is a substance used since ancient times, it was very different from today’s soap. Baths were important to the Greeks and Romans, but most of the time oil, not soap, was used to dissolve dirt and grime on the skin. Sometimes this oil would be mixed with fire ashes, which creates a primitive soap that dissolves dirt and oils.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe entered the Dark Ages and bathing fell out of fashion. That’s because suspicion and myths arose around the act of bathing, and many households only had access to primitive soaps. As bathing declined, the public became more prone to various diseases and plagues which continued until the Renaissance.

During the Renaissance, scented bath oils became extremely popular, but they were only enjoyed by the aristocracy and they didn’t produce a whole lot of bubbles. Fortunately, during this time, bathing also increased among the lower classes. However, the types of soaps used by the upper and the lower classes differed greatly. While the upper classes enjoyed high-quality scented soaps made from olive oils, the lower class had to be content with lye-based soaps made from rendered animal fats.

Bubble baths as we would know them today started with the invention of soap flakes—which was around the turn of the 20th century. By the 1930s, bubble baths were a widespread practice and the practice continued to increase in popularity from the 1940s on. Today, a variety of bubble baths are produced and enjoyed by people all over the world.