National Bicarbonate of Soda Day or Baking Soda day is observed each year annually on December 30th.
Just a spoonful of sodium bicarbonate doesn’t have the same ring to it, but this extraordinary, naturally occurring substance provides health benefits while cleaning the house.
- We add baking soda to recipes as a leavening agent to make our baked goods rise. Baking soda reacts with other acidic ingredients to make that happen.
- Since it is mildly acidic when it is mixed with water, dirt and grease dissolve more efficiently.
- As a gentle abrasive, baking soda makes an ideal cleaning product for kitchen appliances, pots, and pans. It’s even recommended for chrome and the exterior of our automobiles.
- The ability to neutralize odors is one of baking soda’s most powerful properties.
- Use it as a mouthwash, toothpaste, and deodorant for the mouth, feet, and underarms. Beyond personal hygiene, baking soda takes care of smells from pets and food, too.
- The scientific name for baking soda is sodium of bicarbonate, and baking soda also goes by the term bicarbonate of soda.
- Drinkable carbonated water was first produced in 1767 by J.B. Priestley.
- Jacob Schweppes began producing carbonated water commercially in 1783.
- The first soda pop was marketed in the U.S. in 1807.
- Carbonation results from releasing pressurized carbon dioxide in liquids.
- Sometimes sodium or potassium salts are added to produce specific tastes.
- While various baking powders were sold in the first half of the 19th century, our modern variants were discovered by Alfred Bird in 1843.
- During World War II, Byron H. Smith, an inventor in Bangor, Maine (U.S.), created a substitute product for American housewives, who were unable to obtain cream of tartar or baking powder due to war food shortages.
- Sodium bicarbonate is often taken by mouth as an antacid to treat the symptoms of heartburn and upset stomach.
- Canadians use up to 4,800,000 kilograms (9,600,000 Ibs) of Arm and Hammer® baking soda every year!
- Arm & Hammer® was the sole sponsor of the very first Earth Day in 1970. This is right when baking soda began to get attention as an all-natural cleaner!
- In 3500 BC, Ancient Egyptians used natron (a substance primarily made from sodium carbonate) to not only clean, but also to…make mummies! Talk about spooky!
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