Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Harley-Davidson Perfume
Classic business failure: "Hot Road," an eau de toilette released by Harley-Davidson in the mid-1990s and quietly discontinued a year or two later. It wasn't exactly an "on brand" product.More info: Milwaukee Magazine
image source: parfumo.net
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 18, 2022 -
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Category: Business, Products, Success & Failure, 1990s, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Perfume for Ice Cream
Ice-cream chain Salt & Straw is coming out with "culinary perfume" that's designed to be sprayed on ice cream. It'll come in three varieties: "A Cloud of Cocoa," "A Plume of Blooms," and "A Swoon of Citrus."I'll stick with chocolate sauce.
More info: instagram
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 21, 2022 -
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Category: Junk Food, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Potato Perfume
Created as a gimmick by the Idaho Potato Commission. Already out of stock.More info: Idaho Potato Commission, Instagram, upi.com
Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 16, 2022 -
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Category: Food, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Burberry Hero—man/horse duality
AdWeek named this as the weirdest fragrance ad of 2021. I'd have to agree.From YouTube:
A new masculine spirit exploring the house codes of duality and the power of the animal kingdom.
A man in search of transformation and metamorphosis as a new modern heroism.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 28, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Advertising, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Whiffy’s Club
Because Marilyn Meissler had always wondered if she was the only person who liked the smell of skunks, in 1989 she placed an ad in USA Today seeking out other skunk lovers:She got such a positive response that a year later she founded "Whiffy's Club" — a club for people who like the odor of skunks. For $35 members got a t-shirt, button, membership card, and newsletter. And for an extra $11, they got a bottle of skunk aroma.
Montreal Gazette - July 3, 1989
Sequoyah County Times - Jan 31, 1991
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Skunk Guard
Skunk Guard was a solution of skunk spray packaged in small glass vials. Ray Hanson and Jack Scaff started selling this stuff in the 1980s with the idea that it could be used as anti-rape perfume. If a woman feared she was about to be raped, she could break open a vial and smear herself with skunk scent, making herself smell so bad that the rapist, hopefully, would go away. As Scaff explained, "The idea is to make the woman so repulsive the attacker runs away."If the attacker didn't run away he would end up smelling awful also, making it easier for the police to identify him.
Skunk Guard never sold well. I'm guessing most women wanted a form of defense that was more proactive than just making themselves stink.
Honolulu Advertiser - Feb 19, 1985
Minneapolis Star Tribune - May 29, 1985
Santa Cruz Sentinel - Oct 9, 1985
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 29, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: 1980s, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Amphibia Eau de Toilette
A fragrance for muppet fans was a cute idea, but the image of Kermit with six-pack abs was a bit unsettling.
For some reason, Amphibia was deemed culturally significant enough to be added to the Smithsonian's collection. From the Smithsonian:
Fort Myers News-Press - Dec 26, 1995
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 16, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: 1990s, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
Currier and Ives Toiletries
Many cultural touchstones of my youth have vanished, and mean nothing now to new generations."Currier and Ives" is one such.
At one time this name meant "nostalgic popular culture invocations of the nineteenth century." But given that meaning, what kind of smells would you necessarily associate with it? Horse manure? Coal fires? Unwashed longjohns? Was that what was meant by "manly elegance?
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 29, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, 1960s, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents, Nostalgia
Pseudo Corpse Scent
The Sigma-Aldrich Corporation sells a variety of scents including: Pseudo Corpse I (that smells like a body less than 30 days old), Pseudo Corpse II (that mimics the dry-rot scent cadavers attain after a month), and Pseudo Drowned Victim.The scents are intended to be used for training rescue dogs, but I suppose they could also be used to enhance a Halloween costume.
Their product literature offers the following info about training dogs to find a corpse:
1 . Enthusiasm - the dog does not hesitate to approach the body. It may attempt to elicit a response from or urinate on the victim.
2. Cautious Interest - the dog slows its search, may become nervous and raise its hackles, but with encouragement, will approach the victim.
3. Avoidance - the dog will not approach the scent source and may actually attempt to leave the area. This behavior may become evident some distance from the body as the dog enters the scent cone.
image source: EliteK9.com
More info: Discover magazine
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 24, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Dogs, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
The Scent of Gasoline
Ford has collaborated with fragrance firm Olfiction to create a scent called "Mach-Eau" that smells like gasoline. Or, as they put it, the fragrance has "smoky and rubbery accents reminiscent of the petrol smell so many love." They've done this, they say, for the sake of owners of electric cars who miss the smell of gasoline.However, it seems that Ford isn't actually selling this fragrance. So we have to take their word for it that they really did create it.
More info: Ford Europe, CarScoops
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 17, 2021 -
Comments (4)
Category: Cars, Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |