well actually with us it was washing up liquid, but it's all the same except for the smell. In that instance it was my fault.
I know someone who did the same with cooking oil, which is harder still. they succeeded, blotting up, then using a carpet washer 3 times over a weekend, with fairly strong detergent. always left a peculiar patch tho.
oh, and when I was heavily pg i upset a whole bottle of milk at the foot of our stairs. My cleaning lady arrived as I was trying to mop it up, and thought my waters had broken