P&G gives new account of how Ivory ended up floating

CINCINNATI (AP) _ Procter & Gamble Co. is coming clean about the history behind Ivory soap, saying the product's ability to float wasn't discovered by accident. <br/><br/>The company has used the

Monday, June 21st 2004, 5:52 pm

By: News On 6

CINCINNATI (AP) _ Procter & Gamble Co. is coming clean about the history behind Ivory soap, saying the product's ability to float wasn't discovered by accident.

The company has used the slogan ``It floats'' to promote Ivory since the 1800s. The earliest P&G advertising also emphasized Ivory's buoyancy, along with the long-standing claim that the bar soap is ``99 and 44/100ths percent pure.''

Although the Cincinnati-based company acknowledged that the soap floats because P&G whips air into it, it long has attributed that to a production mistake.

But an 1863 notebook entry by P&G chemist James N. Gamble may set the record straight, according to Ed Rider, the company archivist who found the document.

``I made floating soap today,'' Gamble wrote. ``I think we'll make all of our stock that way.''

Gamble, son of P&G co-founder James Gamble, had previously studied with another chemist who already knew how to make soap float, Rider discovered.

The company is disclosing the new information in a book on the history of P&G, the consumer products giant also known for Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste. The book, called ``Rising Tide,'' is due in stores July 8, Rider said.

Ivory, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary, became the first blockbuster brand for P&G, a soap and candle company established in 1837.