
A long-lost perfume got a second life after 150 years underwater - benbreen
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/shipwreck-perfume-bermuda-mary-celestia
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amelius
Since we don't yet have the means to objectively/scientifically record what
the scent actually smells like, perhaps the bottle should stay closed?

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osamagirl69
The GC/MC trace is an immutable record of the exact molecular composition (up
to the capabilities of the GC/MS, some compounds may fall outside of its
analysis range, but the Agilent 5975C shown in the images paired with the
matching 7980A can measure pretty much anything you can smell), the trouble
that these perfumers have is that you can no longer easily source the chemical
compounds.

Furthermore, from what I understand, only a few microliters were removed from
the bottle and it was resealed, so it is not like the sample is lost to time,
and it is probably better preserved now that it is being stored in a museum
than sitting on the seafloor.

I will be honest I am not thrilled that the contents are being kept a secret
and used to sell overpriced perfume, but in general I am all for people
reproducing relics if it means more people can be experience them!

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sawmurai
I'm a bit confused. I searched for more details on that ship and all I can
find is a ship called "Mary Celeste" (so, very similar or the same name)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste)

But its story does not really seem to fit. The Mary Celeste from Wikipedia was
sank in an attempted insurance fraud, being fully loaded with cheap stuff.

Guess I am confusing the ships here :)

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narag
It seems it's not the same ship: Celeste <> Celestia. Both related to the sky,
but not quite the same word. Not sure about English (both ships look like
named in this language) but I associate celeste with the color (sky blue,
light blue) and celestia with firmament or heavens.

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prvc
Does anyone have a detailed description of the scent of ambergris?

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anitil
Articles Of Interest (a 99 Percent Invisible spinoff podcast) had an episode
where they smell ambergris and describe it.

Avery Trufelman (the host) described it as 'like looking at a landscape
through a pinhole'

[https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/perfume-articles-
of-i...](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/perfume-articles-of-
interest-9/)

Edit: There's an even better description from Barbara Herman - "Some people
say there’s tobacco notes. There’s obviously a very, animalic kind of fecal
quality to it, but also slightly metallic and coumarin or hay-like, slightly
sweet. It’s more of a feeling than it is a smell for me. It’s just like being
enveloped in warmth."

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edge17
What is the tool that the person in the photo is using to blast the sand
underwater? I don't dive or anything, but generally just curious about
archeology and technology

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ta17711771
Usually an air line, or a fan.

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dfee
What’s most interesting to me is that we have a history of written records, in
the 19th century gained audio recordings, and now (with the internet / data
storage) an archive of image and video. There are 3 other sense, though. Would
love to see an archive of smell, taste and touch over the ages (even if it’s
only moving forward).

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ianmcgowan
I would love to know what food tasted like 100 or 1,000 years ago. It was
probably gross and horrible for most of humanity back then, so perhaps narrow
the sample to whatever the 1% were eating. Though I probably don't really know
what the 1% are eating now, so maybe it's comparing two impossible things..

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Jack000
Agrarian cultures probably ate a lot _healthier_ than modern people, simply by
virtue of not having heavily processed foods. Preindustrial societies also
didn't have to deal with heavy metals in seafood or arsenic in rice.

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Jack000
surprised this is so controversial. Anyone mind explaining why you disagree?

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ThePowerOfFuet
It's sad to see that Atlas Obscura still pushes their mandatory cookie wall.

