In all honesty...
I've never put much thought into where a loofah comes from. I guess I've always pictured they were some exotic sea plant. (I am not alone). I Never thought they came from a cucumber-ish vegetable. Loofah (genus Luffa), has been given several names: vegetable sponge, sponge gourd, or rag gourd. They are edible when young and have a fibrous spongelike interior that is used domestically for bathing and for washing dishes.A little extra knowledge. Cleaning isn't all they're good for. Commercial cultivation of the plant in the 1890's also let luffas fill a wide range of industrial roles. Before the second World War, over half of imported luffa goards were used in filters (chiefly in the Navy) for everything from steam to diesel engines. They also found use as water filters, industrial scourers, and even surgical tools. After wartime conflict drove Western powers to start sourcing their luffa shipments elsewhere, the dried veggies continued to prove useful through the mid-20th century as an effective sound-proofing material for tanks, helmets, and certain kinds of buildings.
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