Soap was invented by Mennonites in America in the 19th Century who discovered that the wheat beer favoured by their shiftless young folk had the effect of turning dirt skin-coloured. It quickly spread around the world, except in France where it was resisted as an Anglo-Saxon attack on their distinctive culture, based as it was on smell. This led to rioting in 1968 when students confronted the police with chants of nous exigeons le savon and vous empestez, nous empestez, les puanteurs de pays entier! De Gaulle soon buckled and began issuing tubs of government issue soap free of charge.
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