Scrubbing with Dinosaurs

A long time ago, someone gave me some dinosaur soap. It was shaped like an egg, and the packaging promised that there was a dinosaur inside. I scrubbed vigorously in the tub, but the prize remained encased in soap. Slowly, though, it began to emerge, scraping my skin if I didn’t remember where the pointy bits starting to emerge from the soap were. By the time my toy was freed from the soap, I felt like I had been attacked by a dinosaur.

A somewhat safer alternative is the Dino-sphere not to be confused with the children’s museum exhibit), a “bath bomb” that contains a prehistoric prize. Don’t worry, it’s not something that will explode and crack your bathroom porcelain. Instead, it’s a ball that is supposed to fizz when it hits water, releasing a pleasing scent and eventually freeing a dinosaur toy. Just remember to take the toy with you when you exit the bath, lest your feet get an unpleasant and pointy surprise the next time you want to get clean.

Riley Black | | READ MORE

Riley Black is the author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and many other books. She is a science correspondent for Smithsonian magazine covering fossils and natural history, and she writes about the prehistoric past for a variety of publications.