Wednesday 9 March 2016

Our Pungent History: Sweat, Perfume, And The Scent Of Death

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Since the earliest-known civilizations, people have stunk. To counteract these unpleasant smells, humans adopted artificial scents whose functions have varied widely - from incense for spiritual ceremonies to perfumes for fighting illness to products for enhancing sex appeal.

In today's highly deodorized world, where our tolerance of natural smells is ever diminishing, we assume that to be without smell is to be clean, wholesome, and pure. But what Westerners have considered smelling 'good' has changed drastically, and throughout the long and pungent history of humanity, smelling healthy has been as delightful as it has disgusting.

(thanks Hunter)

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