(From our travel archives) \u00a0I like to stop in obscure tourist attractions that mildly interest me, just to see how many other people are mildly interested.\u00a0 In Boron, CA, where they mine borax, today, the answer was nil.\u00a0 No visitors at the Borax information and visitors center.<\/p>\n
Most of you are probably not old enough to remember that the mineral borax (a salt) was once an \u2018end-all, be-all\u2019 for cleaning.\u00a0 It was an additive in everything from laundry detergent to toothpaste, and one particular product was a big tv and radio advertiser, \u201c20 Mule Team Borax\u201d, a product founded by the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n
Borax, the mineral, is found limited places on earth, and this giant source, here in nowhere California, is also the site of a large processing plant.\u00a0 The company has traded hands many times over the last century, and is now in the hands of Dial Corporation, a subsidiary of Henkel. Check out this old commercial.<\/p>\n