So I was thinking, we always hear about how people in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance would dump their chamber pots on the streets. Did people think this was gross, or did they view it similarly to how we might look at dog shit on a sidewalk? I mean in terms of smells, it just seems like practically everywhere a hundred years or more ago probably smelled like shit.

And then I think about shit like perfume and deodorant. How did these products originate?

If I traveled back in time to the 1940s in the United States, would I think that the average person smelled bad? At what point in history would I find common ground with other regular people on what is an appropriate way to smell?

And sex! It's so weird thinking about two 13th century peasants having sex, if only because I imagine it didn't smell great.

I know this is all scatterbrained, but if anyone has any expertise in odors, smells, fumes, etc., from a historical perspective can you just chime in? I just realized I think of history a lot in terms of what I can see and what I can hear (and even in what I taste) but I never really think about the smellz.