Soaking up the Sponge

Welcome to Becoming Sage, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary. My name is Elan Baumgarten, and this is an episode about the absorbent history of sponges. Sponges have been used as a cleaning device for millennia since the ancient Romans attached them to sticks and used them in the legendary Roman bathhouses. Unlike today’s cellulose sponges, the Romans used an animal called the sea sponge. As a species sea sponges are ancient in their own right, even more so than the Romans. The sea sponge species has inhabited the water’s of this world for roughly 543 million years. Not to be mistaken for a plant, these sponges eat bacteria, viruses, and plankton. It wasn’t until 1795 that they were actually identified as an animal! Early naturalists actually thought that they were plants and it took observing their feeding methods to realize that they are actually animals. Unfortunately for the Ancient Romans who couldn’t get enough of using these sea sponges… as toilet paper - sea sponges take a while to mature enough to harvest and they couldn’t keep up with demand. Don’t worry about feeling bad for the sea sponges who were used as toilet paper because they are so primeval that they have no nervous system, no brain, and no organs. Synthetic sponges were first invented in 1937 by German chemist Otto Bayer. Bayer and his team are credited with the invention of polyurethane chemistry. Polyurethanes are polymers with incredible versatility used in everything from insulators, foams, elastomers, to synthetic skins, coatings, and adhesives. Speaking of adhesives, make sure you are all caught up on season one’s episodes. We finished off the season with an episode about some different adhesives if you want to learn more about the topic. Bayer’s invention of polyurethanes made production of synthetic sponges much cheaper than harvesting sea sponges from the ocean. Today we have more than just the synthetic sponge made of polyurethane. Shoppers can choose from a number of different construction materials in their sponges, but synthetic sponges and cellulose sponges are by far the most popular. As the name suggests, cellulose sponges are made from cellulose - the material that makes up plant cell walls. Almost all cellulose sponges are biodegradable, they would have to be mixed with synthetic materials for them to no longer be biodegradable. Cellulose sponges are also made with hemp fibers and sodium sulfate crystals. Their biodegradability makes them popular choices, but there are also drawbacks to the cellulose sponge. Because of their organic nature, these sponges will store more bacteria than a synthetic sponge. It’s important that proper measures are taken to ensure safety when using sponges to prevent cross-contamination. Make sure that you have sponges for certain jobs instead of using one or two for everything. It is also important that you don’t forget to replace sponges. Unless you are cleaning them regularly, in which case they can last for a couple of months, you should probably be replacing them every few weeks. Sponges have a vastly interesting history - but a rather short one at that. There weren’t a whole bunch of different discoveries that led to the creation of this amazing cleaning device, in fact there was really just the invention of polyurethane that led to the creation of the synthetic sponge. That’s why there is a bit of a bonus to this episode. The steel wool. Steel wool is a pretty similar tool to sponges, but they are made specifically for cleaning pots and pans. If you are familiar with steel wool then you know they aren’t made of wool. It has been known that bits of metal rubbed against metal can help get rid of grime and grease since Victorian England in the 19th Century from metal waste called chips. Right around World War 1 aluminum pots and pans became a staple - and so too did the steel wool. Right in the center of the kitchen, a magnificent tool great for cleaning. Steel wool is actually a collection of thousands of different metal fibers interwoven together to resemble wool. Steel wool comes in several levels of abrasiveness based on how coarse it is. Thank you for listening to Becoming Sage. My name is Elan Baumgarten. Make sure to tune in next time to hear the ordinary become truly extraordinary!