All right, did you ever stop to think about what the world smelled like before factories,

cars, and other mechanical devices sort of took over our olfactory senses?

Maybe like trees, flowers, and baby animals.

Yeah, think again.

There's a reason everybody wore perfume or carried flowers back in the day.

I'm Patty Steele.

What in the hell is that smell?

That's next on the backstory.

This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed human.

We're back with the backstory.

Take a good deep breath of the cool autumn air.

What do you smell?

Well, it sort of depends on where you are.

If you're in a city or suburb, most likely the effluvia pulsing up your nostrils is tinged with the smell of progress.

Gasoline, chemicals used in manufacturing and cleaning supplies, along with some more pleasant things like room or car

air fresheners or even natural substances like trees, plants, and flowers. If you live in the

countryside, you may be inhaling the smell of the earth,

woods, plants, and of course, animals. But here's the thing. Before the industrial revolution,

when factories began spewing out smoke mixed with tangy cold dust, there was a whole lot of

stuff to smell. It was just mostly organic.

Animals, unwashed bodies, and decaying food.

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