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5 things you might not know about the history of hygiene.

1. Blubbery bubbles. Through much of history, soap was made from a blend of ashes and animal fats! Sounds gross, but the science checks out. Even today, making soap usually involves combining fats or oils with lye (an alkali, traditionally made by boiling ashes in water). Thankfully, most modern soapmakers swap out the whale blubber and beef fat for pleasant smelling ingredients like coconut oil or cocoa butter.

2. Wary of washing. Between the 14th and 18th centuries in Europe, baths were considered risky procedures that could expose the body to disease. King Henry IV of France once called for his financial advisor to report to him. When the King discovered that his advisor had just taken — gasp! — a bath, he ordered him to put on his pajamas and head to bed. Then the King visited the advisor’s bedside — all to avoid endangering his subject’s delicate, post-bath health.