I may never come to understand why Soap-On-A-Rope never took a firm and permanent foothold in the marketplace, or for that matter, why it was such a ridiculed product...

Never mind that it's next to impossible to buy Soap-On-A-Rope anymore (especially the classic and distinctly aromatic Brut brand).

Never mind that for a guy, the sheer brilliance of a product that was hanging right at your fingertips in the shower may not ever again be invented in our lifetime.

And never mind that just before you started your shower, you could pretend you were a triumphant Olympic athlete, by draping the "gold medal" over your neck and shoulders, before getting busy with the Head And Shoulders... That soap had a multitude of purposes...

Which may have been why it became the butt of late-night TV talk show jokes, and a constant reference to the "buddy" shower system in national correctional institutions. Hmm. I realize that "butt" may not have been the best choice of words in that last sentence, and I apologize...

Let's just say instead that Soap-On-A-Rope was routinely maligned by stand-up comics everywhere.

When you see how products explode onto the marketplace now, imagine if that template had worked for soap, and how it could be easily applied to other more modern products:

* i-Pod-On-A-Rope - the ultimate in portable music convenience!
* Cell-Phone-On-A-Rope - no more phones left behind in some popular dance nightspot!
* Mittens-On-A-Rope - OK, I know these have existed for years already, but now you'd know what to call them...
* Keys-On-A-Rope - handy if you've been out all night at one of those popular dance nightspots!!

Just imagine the possibilities...

Chow for now!!