MY wife and I were having our usual morning Northern Echo reverie when I mentioned to her that the Memories section from 1951 had an advert for Rinso, a well known soap powder.

I mentioned that it was a trade name that seemed to have disappeared and she said that a similar product OMO was no longer available because of unintended suggestions associated with the name.

According to her, unfaithful wives used the product as a code by placing a packet in the window thereby denoting “Old Man Out”.

Can any HAS readers confirm this tall story?

VJ Connor, Bishop Auckland.