While it is no longer something I indulge in, watching soap operas took up more than an inordinate amount of my time during high school I am embarrassed to admit. If like me, you were a teenage girl in the early 80’s, you cried through the most watched soap opera episode in history, Luke and Laura’s Wedding (General Hospital).
Each day after 4th period, a group of us raced two blocks from school to our classmate’s house to catch “General Hospital” live. Sorry folks, no DVR back in the 80’s! We crowded around the not so oversized and not so flat screen television in the family room and eagerly watched the saga of Luke, Laura and Scotty play out episode after episode, season after season! I think we even threw rice at the wedding, much to our friend’s mother’s chagrin.
This reminiscing prompted by I’m not sure what, brings me to why I’ve never questioned the origin of the term soap opera! As a soap addict, soap maker, soap connoisseur, and known to be fairly inquisitive by nature, I guess I just took the term for granted! Come to find out with the term apparently originated from the very advertising sponsors who funded these day time cult, then mainstream programs first heard on the radio and then watched on television. Seems obvious now as who to better promote every day household items such as soap to a predominately female audience? My first response is….brilliant!
With that puzzle solved, I am led to wonder which bar of Manos Soap our own publicist might have pitched to General Hospital’s executive producer to secure a coveted product placement spot in a General Hospital episode! Port Charles itself, the fictional seaside town where the story takes place, still conjures up images for me of waves lapping against the dock, foggy nights and hidden alcoves for clandestine meetings all laced with the smell of salty sea air. I imagine Port Charles’ gift and souvenir shops would have done a bang up business with Manos Soap’s Epson Salt Soap Bar! Rich in magnesium sulfate, an ingredient thought to reduce stress and promote sleep, I wonder if the drama prone characters of General Hospital might have benefitted from using this popular Manos Soap bar!
I predict Laura, General Hospital’s darling, with her radiant and flawless complexion would have selected two Manos Soap Co. bars for her private bathroom. I always squirmed with jealousy when seeing her radiant, flawless skin up close on television! Surely the Charcoal Himalayan Pink Sea Salt Soap would be a staple in her shower which we were privy to on occasion! This soap is chalk full of good things for the face including activated charcoal which draws bacteria, dirt and pollutants from the skin. I imagine Laura’s bathtub soap dish would hold the Cashmere Soap Bar with its goat milk base, vitamin rich ingredients including A, B6, B12 and E. It is the perfect recipe for silky soft skin head to toe! White kaolin clay, comprised of silica, calcium, iron and magnesium, and would have appealed to Laura’s sensibilities in selecting a cleanser. Her skin was always luminous!
As for Scotty, my memories of his character are all over the board. His “good boy turned bad” self would have opted for Oatmeal Milk Honey Soap Bar, with its rich lather and clean aroma, only then to be replaced with Patchouli Soap Bar and its wound healing and scar reducing properties. Yes I realize Scotty’s wounds were internal after the very bad break-up, but every little bit helps, right?
Now for the one I once loved to hate, but grew to adore, Luke! Where Scotty transformed from golden boy to master manipulator, Luke did the exact opposite! Certainly his master bath aboard his private yacht turned casino, turned nightclub would have displayed a bar of Sandalwood Soap Bar. The alluring scent of sandalwood, amber and tobacco vanilla obviously drove Laura to abandon her new husband, Scotty, and follow Luke to the altar shortly after her first wedding!
All kidding aside, soap operas are entirely unpredictable! Thank goodness Manos Soap Co. offers the opposite with its carefully curated collection of reliable, high quality, handcrafted, gluten free, animal friendly and non-toxic cleansing bars!