This housewife is washing dishes and listening to her radio (on the right). Soap Operas - Soaps earned their name from sponsors like Procter and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Manhattan Soap and Lever Brothers, who targeted woman with their mid-day tales which spun never-ending plots about romance and scandal. They began in 1930 and programs like 1937's Guiding Light continue to this day.