# So . . . who wants to help me experiment with Irish Spring Soap? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679 "2006-09-22T06:58:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/21 "2006-09-22T21:22:39Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] Here’s a tip. I’ve been using Irish Spring soap in combination with **Tag** Green (First Move) Body Spray for Men. It has the same basic overtones as Irish Spring and really takes the whole freshness thing to new levels. I love the combination-- I smell fabulous, like a freshly bathed leprechaun! [/QUOTE] I got a headache just reading that! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/22 "2006-09-22T21:48:50Z")
Why is there a Google ad for “100% Pure Emu Oil” running below? ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/23 "2006-09-22T23:14:23Z")
You could use the soap for impromptu behavioral experiments, by wandering around public parks and other pastoral outdoor settings, dressed in warm homespun clothing and whistling a sprightly jig, and presenting a bar of soap to random strangers while cheerfully expounding upon its virtues. Using a rustic clasp knife, carve a slice from the soap, thereby calling attention to its two deodorants. “Two deodorants!” you’ll repeat enthusiastically. “Manly, yes! But I like it, too!” Offer them the soap, exhorting them to deeply sniff its clean, fresh scent. Observe their reactions. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/24 "2006-09-22T23:29:47Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Observe their reactions. [/QUOTE] . . . as I get hauled off by the cops. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/25 "2006-09-23T00:15:04Z")
Irish Spring is sort of a marbled green, right? You could find some way to meld slices of it with slices of plain white soap, and then carve “cameos”. That would be way cool. I would so buy cameo soap! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/26 "2006-09-23T13:38:26Z")
Drill a hole in it and wear it as bling. Portable room deodorizer & a fashion statement! Also, if you ever go to prison, it could help too. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/27 "2006-09-25T14:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] No deer around here [/QUOTE] And therefore strong empirical evidence of its deer repellant properties! And my experiments prove that it is an effective tiger and elephant repellant, too! ---
**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/28 "2006-09-25T14:27:10Z")
[QUOTE=Spiff] And therefore strong empirical evidence of its deer repellant properties! And my experiments prove that it is an effective tiger and elephant repellant, too! [/QUOTE] Yes, but does it deter [cows](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=373196&highlight=elephant+pool+cover)?.. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/29 "2006-09-25T14:43:01Z")
Put some outside your apartment door. It’ll keep the deer from eating the knobs. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/30 "2006-09-25T16:20:30Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] No deer around here- just kit foxes and cats. Lots of cats. Wait, do spiders hate Irish Spring? We’ve got tons of those to rid ourselves of 😃 [/QUOTE] Soap is a very effective insecticide, and would probably work on spiders. Add 1/4 cup melted Irish Spring to 1 3/4 cups of water in a spray bottle and go at them. ---
**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/31 "2006-09-25T16:36:33Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Soap is a very effective insecticide, and would probably work on spiders. Add 1/4 cup melted Irish Spring to 1 3/4 cups of water in a spray bottle and go at them. [/QUOTE] Are you actually killing the spider with the soap or just drowning the little fucker?.. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/32 "2006-09-25T17:05:36Z")
[QUOTE=934spe] Are you actually killing the spider with the soap or just drowning the little fucker?.. [/QUOTE] [The Master Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_064.html) ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/33 "2006-09-25T17:13:29Z")
[QUOTE=Grossbottom] Tie some slivers up in cheesecloth and put it in your dresser drawers so the scent permeates your clothing. Or maybe try dissolving a bar of it in some hot water, pour the water into a spray bottle and use it to clean with? [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t that leave a residue? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/34 "2006-09-25T17:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=934spe] Are you actually killing the spider with the soap or just drowning the little fucker?.. [/QUOTE] Probably drowning. Spiders tend to be fairly waterproof, but if the surface tension of your liquid has been reduced (and saturation with soap does this quite effectively), the spider will go down like a poleaxed mule. Actually tests in the wild would probably demonstrate little, if any, similarity among the two demises, but the simile – _spoke_ to me. Hey **DiosaBellissima** , if you are able to melt them down and put them through the candle-making routine, they’re not useless, even if they won’t burn. It sounds to me like a little pillar candle that smells like Irish Spring but won’t burn would make a great gag gift. And they should be useful as drawer sachets anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/35 "2006-09-25T17:45:31Z")
Any other readers holding their breath as they read this? I don’t like the smell of Irish Spring! Sometimes my son will leave a bar here, and I have to stick it in a ziplock. Wonder what it is about it that I dislike so much… No matter. What I really want to know is – what is this press and seal thing of which you speak? ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/36 "2006-09-25T19:08:53Z")
[QUOTE=934spe] The only thing I can think of about melting it down is that the heat from melting the actual soap part (lye and salts, usually from fats) will drive off any oils… It is caputuring these oils that would be the real task.. I have captured a natural oil before, for a lab I did involving garlic (I still can’t eat garlic to this day after smelling it super strong for over 2 months, but that is a different story). From my garlic experiments, I can come to the following conclusion: Trying to get oil out is a VERY slow process, and it has VERY low yeild, I think too much is lost to evaporation… [/QUOTE] That’s awfully labor intensive indeed. Instead, the OP could just fresh squeeze an Irishman. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/37 "2006-09-25T19:25:06Z")
Have you considered, instead of all of this hard work, simply carving out a hole in the middle of a fresh bar and inserting an unscented tea light candle? I would think the heated wax would release some of the scent from the oils. BTW: I use press and seal as replacement tops for 5 gallon water cooler bottles, amazing stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Sweet\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/38 "2006-09-25T19:39:11Z")
[QUOTE=Another Primate] Any other readers holding their breath as they read this? I don’t like the smell of Irish Spring! Sometimes my son will leave a bar here, and I have to stick it in a ziplock. Wonder what it is about it that I dislike so much… No matter. What I really want to know is – what is this press and seal thing of which you speak? [/QUOTE] I am, but that’s because Irish Spring gives me a terrible rash. Just the smell reminds me of itching like crazy. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/39 "2006-09-26T00:38:57Z")
[QUOTE=] What I really want to know is – what is this press and seal thing of which you speak? [/QUOTE] [Press 'n Seal](http://glad.com/plasticwrap/pressnseal.php) This stuff is fun. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/40 "2006-09-26T06:50:24Z")
[QUOTE=Spiff] And my experiments prove that it is an effective tiger and elephant repellant, too! [/QUOTE] You mean you put some in the yard and no tigers or elephants have been spotted in your yard since? I should try that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679.md?page=3)