In the Canadian city of Halifax, construction workers moved a historic building weighing 200 tons using 700 bars of soap. Snob.ru reports this with reference to The Washington Post.
The building, built in 1826, was originally a hotel called the Elmwood. In recent years it has been used as an apartment building.
In early December, construction workers were tasked with moving the building to make way for a new apartment complex. They tried to move it using two excavators and a tow truck, but were unsuccessful.
Then the head of the construction company, Sheldon Rushton, decided to use soap. He chose Procter & Gamble's regular Ivory soap, which adheres to the steel beams and provides a smoother glide.
Builders raised the building 2.5 centimeters using hydraulic jacks and placed 700 bars of soap between the supporting structures. Overnight the weight of the soap crushed and the beams became slippery. As a result, the house was successfully moved 9.1 meters.