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Reply	A Ziemacki says: Soap is not the only unlikely location for mould growth, notorious problems arise with moulds on and inside lenses, (frequently ruining very expensive items) and on modern slide and negative film. In neither case is there any obvious nutrient medium apart from what may have been deposited as invisibly small dust grains, perhaps smoke particles or pollen. Cleaning lenses with a degreaser seems to protect them for a long time, perhaps by making their surfaces less sticky. Soap is however so sticky that it must eventually collect so many spores of different types on its surface that moulds grow that are able to feed off other as yet unpropogated spores.  (no votes) Tags: weather, unanswered, domestic science, human body, plants.
	posted on 2009-03-03 14:20:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Doctor says: My research suggests it is actually a rare form of slime mould.  (no votes) Tags: weather, unanswered, domestic science, human body, plants.
	posted on 2009-03-04 14:32:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Anonymous says: It looks more like mycelium than mold to me. In either case I must assume that the soap was produced in a small batch as opposed to in a manufacturing plant. I make primitive soap with rendered animal fats and wood ash, and it can grow things on it if it stays wet for too long.  (no votes) Tags: weather, unanswered, domestic science, human body, plants.
	posted on 2009-03-09 01:05:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Anonymous says: the purest soaps (100% saponified) do not require perfumes to cover up the smell of fats that have gone rancid and usually are the cheapest because ignorant people are willing to pay more because they think erroneously that the perfume allows them to be cleanerthis mould at least shows that the soap is easily "biodegradable"apologies for grammar etc - big rush  (no votes) Tags: weather, unanswered, domestic science, human body, plants.
	posted on 2009-03-30 16:14:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Xiangyu Hu says: Well, soap is really only hygrogenated plant lipids mixed with sodium hydroxide. This causes a reaction that replaces the hydrogen ion in the fatty acids with sodium. Once you think about it, the mamilian digestive system could reverse the reaction, allowing the sodium and lipids to be absorbed, making it an excellent food in survival situations (sodium loss can be a big problem in such situations. Lipids have a high energy content). I suppose that if a fungus can acidify the soap or survive in a basic enviroment (PH 12 or above) it could live off soap.  (no votes) Tags: weather, unanswered, domestic science, human body, plants.
	posted on 2009-04-02 12:25:00 | Report abuse

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