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S.O.S Soap Pad
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<p>S.O.S Soap Pad is a <a href="/facts/Trademark/B23H8IS0">trade</a> name for an abrasive cleaning pad, used for household cleaning, and made from <a href="/facts/Steel_wool/bb1r4qCG">steel wool</a> saturated with soap. </p><p>In 1917, Irwin Cox of San Francisco, California, an aluminum pot salesman, invented a pre-soaped pad with which to clean pots. As a way of introducing himself to potential new customers, Cox made the soap encrusted steel-wool pads as a calling card. His wife named the soap pads S.O.S or "Save Our Saucepans." Cox soon found out that the S.O.S pads were a hotter product than his pots and pans. </p><p>It is commonly believed that a period was left out in the name's punctuation. However, this spelling was chosen by design. The <a href="/facts/Acronym/nlHK7aRt">acronym</a>, <i><a href="/facts/SOS/q6uYE9W7">S.O.S.</a></i>, is the famous <a href="/facts/Distress_signal/uME47xe9">distress signal</a> and could not be trademarked. By removing the last period, the name was unique and could then be registered with the <a href="/facts/United_States_Patent_and_Trademark_Office/97KdJB6h">United States Patent and Trademark Office</a>. </p><p>The product was indirectly featured in a widely circulated <a href="/facts/Black-and-white/CXPjISFh">black & white</a> photograph taken by <a href="/facts/William_Safire/tX1KH32r">William Safire</a> of the <a href="/facts/Kitchen_Debate/IhqtLdf8">Kitchen Debate</a>. An S.O.S box is clearly visible on the right side of the picture, standing on the <a href="/facts/Countertop/ob1Ll7RH">countertop</a> above the <a href="/facts/Washing_machine/8Nr6modd">washing machine</a>. </p><p>S.O.S was bought by <a href="/facts/General_Foods/jEEvcr5P">General Foods</a> in 1958, then in 1968 it was sold to <a href="/facts/Miles_Laboratories/LLGR1BSU">Miles Laboratories</a>. In the mid-1990s, the manufacturer began advertising that S.O.S pads had been made rust-resistant. In fact the pads were so well-protected against rust, and the pads lasted so much longer, that Miles removed the rust-inhibiting ingredients and ceased to advertise the pad's rust resistant quality. Later, in 1994 Miles sold the brand to <a href="/facts/Clorox/eo1APMCA">Clorox</a>. </p>