As we learned with the creation of our Microdry Ultimate Luxury Memory Foam Bath Mat, a small but smart change to a product can revolutionize it entirely.

We got to thinking about other small innovations that have become a big part of our everyday lives and decided we needed to write about them on occasion here. This week’s pick: The foaming soap dispenser.

Though these dispensers are found almost everywhere now, from home kitchens to public restrooms, they were only invented about 15 years ago by a tiny Dutch firm called Airspray. They added a chamber to the traditional soap pimp that injects air into the liquid to create that gentle, cleansing puff we all love. Within 5 years, the pumps were picked up by soap giants like Proctor & Gamble, not just for their popularity with consumers but also because they work best with distilled (read: watered down) soaps.