Learn advanced English with The English Nut. He teaches and entertains you! Discover the Indian origin of 'shampoo'. In this and other videos, The English Nut explores fascinating facts about English, including the origin of English words in India and elsewhere, provides useful tips on English usage and, in a lighthearted manner, corrects typical Indian English mistakes. Watch the videos for entertainment--and you might just learn a thing or two as well. :)
As The English Nut, one of my goals is to interview Dr Shashi Tharoor about the English language.
Video #34 TRANSCRIPT
Episode Title: Indians gave the world its first shampoo!
Super: champo -- shampoo
Indians gave the world its first shampoo! The word itself is derived from the Hindi word ‘champo’, which means to press or knead. Sake Dean Mahomed, a Bengali surgeon, entrepreneur and traveller, brought shampooing (‘champooi’) to Britain in the early 19th century. One wonders what life there was like before that. Oh, the heady fragrance of history!
From ancient times, Indians made shampoo by boiling sapindus (reetha) and dried Indian gooseberry (amla). Sapindus is derived from the Latin words sapo, meaning soap, and indicus, meaning ‘from India’.
Super: 1814: Britain gets its first shampoo
In 1814, Sake Dean Mahomed and his Irish wife Jane Daly set up the first commercial "shampooing" vapour masseur bath in Brighton, England. He described the treatment in a newspaper as "The Indian Medicated Vapour Bath (type of Turkish bath), a cure to many diseases and giving full relief when everything fails…". So initially shampooing was associated with a full-body massage and cleansing. Gradually, it became specific to hair washing.
Super: First shampoo brands
Commercial shampoos were available by the turn of the 20th century. Canthrox Shampoo and Harmony Hair Beautifier and Shampoo were amongst the first American brands launched. And in 1927, liquid shampoo was invented by German inventor Hans Schwarzkopf. His name lives on as a hair products brand name to this day.
Super: Quinoa shampoo?
India wasn’t the only ancient civilisation to invent shampoo. Before quinoa can be cooked and eaten, a soapy natural substance called saponin must be washed out of it. This by-product is what Andean civilisations of South America used as shampoo Something to think about while eating your quinoa salad.
Super: sham poo vs. real poo
I was once asked as a joke if shampoo is sham poo then what is real poo? Sham, of course, means fake. And poo is, well, poo.
While that was a bad joke, I was surprised to discover that there is actually something called the no poo movement—which is not what you might think it is. This movement rejects the custom or regular shampooing, believing that it is not good for the hair and scalp. Its followers use substances like baking soda and vinegar instead to avoid the side effects. Perhaps they should switch to ancient Indian organic shampoo—to get hair that’s got body, bounce, shine and fragrance.
[Note: here we cut to a slow motion shot of me turning with focus on my hair.]
I’m The English Nut. Bye for now!
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