Robert R. Taylor, the father of liquid soap, died. He was 77. In 1978, his company, Minnetonka, introduced Softsoap, after Taylor grew frustrated with the mess caused by disintegrating soap bars. According to the Harvard Business Review, Taylor thwarted the multinationals by purchasing a year's worth of pumps—100 million of them—from the only manufacturers in the US. The move bought Taylor time as it was more than a year before competitors could match his product. Later, in 1985, Taylor wo...