The World's Most Famous Suds

The best-selling bubble bath in the world has its own section in a Medora museum

I know you are anticipating a blog entry about beer, given my penchant for uncovering worthy microbrews as we make our way across the country. This story, however, is about real suds. The kind that used to create mountains of foam in your bathtub when you were a kid. In particular, this is about the biggest-selling bubble bath in history -- Mr. Bubble. 2011 is Mr. Bubble's 50th anniversary of cleaning the grime off of America's kids, all while putting a smile on Mom's face by not leaving a bathtub ring. What does this have to do with my travels, right? Well, I'll try to keep this clean.

Harold Schafer, the creative force behind Mr. Bubble and numerous other household cleaning products marketed by the Gold Seal Company, was a big benefactor to the Town of Medora, North Dakota, before he passed away about 10 years ago. The historic Roughriders Hotel was in a shambles and many other properties in the town were in need of improvement. Schafer invested in restoring the hotel and was the catalyst in transforming the Teddy Roosevelt-era village into the gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. There is a museum in town celebrating the life of Harold Schafer, which includes a section devoted to the history of Mr. Bubble.

Mr. Bubble hits the big screen with Steve Martin in the 1980s film "The Jerk."