Summer Fun: Microwaved Ivory Soap

by Wendy on July 20, 2011

Microwaved Ivory Soap

When I came across the idea to microwave Ivory soap on The Cyber School Mom Diary’s fantastically comprehensive Supermegatotally Thrilladelic Not Bummer Summer list,  I was instantly intrigued.

“What happens when you microwave Ivory soap?” I asked.

“Try it and see!” Chrissi told me. “It doesn’t damage anything and it’s cool.”

I immediately added it to our summer fun list and once Wyatt saw it he was dying to see what happened.

Soap! A microwave! What could be better?

It definitely did not disappoint. PLUS: there’s science!

Microwaved Ivory Soap

We started off with a hunk of plain old Ivory soap. We cut a bar of soap in half, but you could cut it into quarters and still get a dramatic effect. You may recall that Ivory soap floats in water. The reason for that is that unlike other soap, it has a a bunch of air whipped into it. This is important because when you microwave it, all those tiny air bubbles expand and make your soap look like this:

Microwaved Ivory Soap

How cool is that? It took 90 seconds of microwaving to get the soap to this stage the first time and 30 seconds the second time. After it balloons up, the soap feels simultaneously crunchy and squishy to the touch. It isn’t particularly hot when it comes out, but please use common sense when handling it — steam burns are not fun.

I’d also like to take a moment to note that I’m mortified by how dirty my microwave is in this picture. On the plus side, it is sparkling and shiny now that I’ve cleaned a bunch of fluffy soap out of it.

Microwaved Ivory Soap

Anyhoo, the kids were thrilled by this project and have been begging me to do it again since the first exciting result. We’ve placed the fluffy soap next to our bathroom sink and we break little chunks off to use when we wash our hands.

Have you ever microwaved Ivory soap? What else is fun (and safe!) to microwave?

If you’re visiting Wendolonia for the first you may be interested in checking out some of my other kid-centric posts:

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  • http://twitter.com/ladyvdzine Virginia Higgins

    This looks like so much fun, and my kids would really enjoy it.  We are going to try it!

  • http://twitter.com/Lila_Reign Lilly Wilkinson

    mens shaving cream (not the gel kind) and marshmallows have a pretty similar effect. And if you use peeps instead of regular marshmallows, the outside stays the same but the inside gets all caramel-y. it’s not too tasty though. 

  • cassi

    it’s batman :D

  • Dscar06

    I put drops of food colouring on the soap bar before microwaving. SO COOL!!!

  • Roflcopter

    its definitely minecraft. maybe know what you’re putting on your kid before you buy it.

  • Roflcopter

    its definitely minecraft. maybe know what you’re putting on your kid before you buy it.

  • Duh

    yeah…. staring at a microwave is not a good idea or safe… you should stand very far away when using a microwave. you know… radiation and all. duh.

  • TrollSquish

    Its batman….

  • http://www.wendolonia.com/blog wcopley

    I know exactly what’s on my son’s shirt — it’s a Minecraft avatar with a Batman skin on it. It looks remarkably like the avatar he plays with on the server we host which is why we bought it.

  • http://www.wendolonia.com/blog wcopley

    I’m ABSOLUTELY going to try that next time! Thanks for the suggestion.

  • Lvhusker20

    es una marca entonces la misma nombre……….Ivory Soap

  • Roflcopter

    also, i like how you deleted my comment about not letting children stare at a microwave. smart :]

  • http://www.wendolonia.com/blog wcopley

    I don’t usually delete comments unless they’re really unpleasant so I believe you’ll find your comment at the bottom of the list. You posted it under the name “Duh”, if I’m not mistaken. Or did you already forget that?

  • Roflcopter

    yep, i did forget the name i used. but that’s not nearly as stupid as letting your kid stare at a microwave. :]

  • Alina

    Will this work with any kind of soap?

  • http://www.wendolonia.com/blog wcopley

    I’ve only tried it with the Ivory soap, so I don’t have first hand experience, but from comments and emails I’ve learned that you can get a similar effect with some other kinds of soap (Zest is a brand that’s been mentioned by name). Ivory appears to be the most dramatic though because of the extra air.

  • http://twitter.com/ZuzySuzy Suzy Riegelman

    it would probably just melt or stay the same.
    this works with ivory soap because the air bubbles in it expand

  • http://twitter.com/ZuzySuzy Suzy Riegelman

    it would probably just melt or stay the same.
    this works with ivory soap because the air bubbles in it expand

  • The Physicist

    You obviously don’t know much about microwaves and the strict regulations that are involved and enforced in their manufacturing process through the FDA. Firstly, microwaves are non-ionizing radiation, so they do not have the same risks as x-rays or other types of ionizing radiation.
     Over the machine’s “lifetime” the allowable level is 5 milliwatts of
    microwave radiation (this limit is FAR below the level known to harm people) per square centimeter at approximately 2 inches from
    the oven surface. Microwave energy also decreases dramatically as you move away from the
    source of radiation. A measurement made 20 inches from an oven would be
    approximately one one-hundredth of the value measured at 2 inches. (and almost all microwaves exceed that regulation by several degrees)
    The standard also requires all ovens to have two independent interlock
    systems that stop the production of microwaves the moment the latch is
    released or the door opened. In addition, a monitoring system stops oven
    operation in case one or both of the interlock systems fail. The noise
    that many ovens continue to make after the door is open is usually the
    fan. The noise does not mean that microwaves are being produced. There
    is no residual radiation remaining after microwave production has
    stopped. In this regard a microwave oven is much like an electric light
    that stops glowing when it is turned off.
    There have been allegations of radiation injury from microwave ovens,
    but none as a direct result of microwave exposure. The injuries known to
    FDA have been injuries that could have happened with any oven or
    cooking surface. For example, many people have been burned by the hot
    food, splattering grease, or steam from food cooked in a microwave oven.
    Generally
    speaking, exposure to very high levels of microwave radiation can result
    in significant amounts of energy being absorbed by the body. Just as
    with food, this energy is transformed into heat in the body. Sensitive
    body parts, such as the eyes, are not able to get rid
    of the extra heat that may build up. However, the situations where
    effects of thermal (heat) damage has actually occurred to the eye or
    brain required long term exposure to very high power densities WELL IN EXCESS (i.e. long-term effects from prolonged exposure to extraordinarily high levels of pulsed or pulse-modulated electromagnetic fields) of those measured around microwave ovens.

  • Popsicle

    I love you.

  • Popsicle

    I love you.

  • Popsicle

    I love you.

  • Thepriss

    Seriously? You want to bring out sources for why that’s stupid? I’ve been staring at them since I was a child, before more stringent protocols for radiation containment were put into place, and I don’t feel the desire to make comments like this.

    If you have problems with stuff the author of this blog writes, my best suggestion is you find something more positive to do with your time. There are children being beaten somewhere you should put your energy into.

    I know your kind, though. While the rest of us are doing something real, you’re finding soft, easy targets to troll, because you’re too weak to make a real impact.

    You can change, but not while you’re here.

  • Thepriss

    I have done this a few times. The kids go crazy over it. As a bonus, any weird smells I couldn’t get out of the microwave by cleaning it seem to go away after doing this one.

    Since I do my own homemade laundry detergent, I use Ivory as the soap in the mix. It’s still as effective even when it’s been nuked, and it’s a lot easier to break down into a powder when it’s in this form. Doesn’t beat up the food processor as much.

    And before a troll complains about using a food processor for soap… what do you wash your dishes with? I assure you, it is not as safe in the case of accidental ingestion as Ivory is. Not even the mild stuff. It’s not that hard to wash soap out of there. That’s kind of what it was made for… washing stuff. Crazy, huh?

    It’s an awesome bonus that we can use it to entertain the little folk.

  • guest

    Small chip bags, 1oz to 2oz in size will spark, shrivel and shrink dramatically, but the cool part is that when it’s done, you’ll have a 3-inch-tall mini chip bag that’s hard and still perfectly legible!  Really cool, I remember doing this in middle school.

  • http://www.facebook.com/joseph.didonato Joseph Didonato

    Love it

  • Ian Maher

    that kids shirt is sick

  • Roflcopter

    No, but at least now we all have a source as to why you’re stupid. “I’ve been staring at them since I was a child,” hahahah

  • Roflcopter

    No, but at least now we all have a source as to why you’re stupid. “I’ve been staring at them since I was a child,” hahahah

  • Roflcopter

    yep, I can spout information too. but at least mine comes from the microwave manufacturers. http://www.retrevo.com/support/LG-LTM9000-Microwaves-manual/id/8079bh738/t/2/ download and read any of the 100 manuals telling you not to stand in front of a running microwave. lol

  • blue

    hmmm… maybe take the time to clean the inside of your nasty microwave instead of using it to blow up soap.

  • http://www.wendolonia.com/blog wcopley

    We’re too busy enjoying our lives.

  • http://twitter.com/SweetSugarBelle Callye Alvarado

    FUN…on the to do list!

  • Lrnnbrown

    Doing this today!

  • Anonymous

    How fun is this? I love the last photos.

  • shelle

    Ah, the irony of Blue criticizing the blog owner’s use of her time by wasting time leaving a comment about her wasting time. Yawn.

    Fun soap trick! Thanks for sharing.

  • Lisa

    totally cool!

  • Rebecca

    my son microwaved an empty Funjun bag. I don’t know how safe it is, but it’s pretty cool.

  • Pingback: What Happens When You Microwave Soap | Madbite

  • wow

    You have no life.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=550698161 Kristen Vania Peacock

    I don’t have a microwave story, but there’s a fun thing you can do with milk, red, blue and yellow food coloring, and plain old dish soap.  

    Pour some milk into a small, flat pan.  Add one drop of food coloring per color in a triangular pattern.  Now add a single drop of dish soap in the middle of the colors, and watch the magic happen.  No worries, it’s not a messy experiment, but it’s really cool to watch.

  • Shelby

    Peeps are fun to microwave!

  • An.

    All this. Over a shirt.

  • Shellzzie

    I actually wanted to make 2 comments but now I have 3….
    1-my kids loved doing this thank you!!
    2-i absolutely adore the comment on your microwave and i LOVE it when moms are honest because ill tell ya, if i went and took a picture of my microwave it would look exactly the same! and…..
    3-i just saw those comments down below…wow!! is all i can say and i hope that guy didnt bother you! what an idiot!

  • Jdmiles1205

    somebody always got something negative to say 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OO2MCCY77LWYTK76YI74ZQGYSQ Kitty

    That looks awesome! I very much want to do that now! XD 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LDHGJMLBVTLRIGJD7NQKYP6VVY Rachel

    Something else that’s fun to do: build a little pyramid of matches, light one, cover it with a glass jar, and microwave it. Little plasma balls start shooting up, it’s great fun. We did it in physics one day.

  • kyanos

    Ahhh net trolls…

  • kyanos

    try nuking grapes. take a few grapes (we tried it with three grapes to start off with) slice them in half lengthwise and put them cut side up on a plate (or paper towel) i think we started at 15 seconds. Grape plasma ^_^ youtube if you’re interested http://youtu.be/vCNNqgKqnaQ
    -cheers!

  • Teithwyr

    Have you never tried marshmallow peep jousting?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7y7pLW7uSQ&feature=related

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