S.O.S Soap Pad

S.O.S Soap Pad is a trade name for an abrasive cleaning pad, used for household cleaning, and made from steel wool saturated with soap.

In 1917, Ed Cox of San Francisco, California, an aluminum pot salesman, invented a pre-soaped pad with which to clean pots. As a way of introducing himself to potential new customers, Cox made the soap encrusted steel-wool pads as a calling card. His wife named the soap pads S.O.S or "Save Our Saucepans." Cox soon found out that the S.O.S pads were a hotter product than his pots and pans.