# Shampoo- why?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shampoo-why/66815>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 28, 2001, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shampoo-why/66815 "2001-05-28T22:29:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@Lego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lego)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shampoo-why/66815/1 "2001-05-28T22:29:09Z")

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What is the origin of the word “shampoo”?

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**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shampoo-why/66815/2 "2001-05-28T22:35:11Z")

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It was invented when they couldn’t find any real poo.

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**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shampoo-why/66815/3 "2001-05-28T22:56:36Z")

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[Dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=shampoo) says it’s from the Hindu language and means ‘to press’.