Baking Soda for cleaning around the house?

Here's a thought....where does baking soda come from? As I was watching Oprah with Dr. Oz, he stated that baking soda is the best cleaning agent. The reason being that it is all natural; there are no chemicals, which in turn is great for the environment. I thought I'd give it a try, the box only cost me $0.87.
To my surprise it works great! But as I was cleaning with this little gem, I thought to myself, "Where does baking soda come from?" I really don't have any idea, but just wondering if anyone knew.

The Mailman

Is the Mailman the new Milkman?

As I was looking through my mail the other day and realizing how much junk mail I receive versus something that is worthwhile; I starting thinking about the "extinction" of the mailman. Will the mailman be eliminated as the milkman was? Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to see the loss of any jobs. The fact is that a lot of our bills can go paperless and I would not be surprised that the utility companies will one day (soon) have that option. I don't believe that the US Postal service will be eliminated completely, but it's service(s) will change.

This is our "milkbox."