What's That Horrible Smell?

A friend and fellow writer lamented to me how she doesn't like reading historical romances because she couldn't get pass the fact that everyone was probably stinky back then—no regular bathing, no teeth brushing, no deodorant, etc.—so she couldn't accept the heroine making it with the hero considering how dirty he (and probably she as well) was. I thought this was pretty funny, especially since I've never considered what anyone smelled like when I read historical romances or even watched historical movies. Everyone always seemed so formal, so delicate and wearing haute couture with the high-brow attitude to match that I couldn't imagine their poop even stinking. Then I read in my recent Discover Magazine (Lentini, Liza and Mouzon, David, September 2007, page 80) the following:

• "King Henry IV required his knights to bathe at least once in their lives—during their ritual knighthood ceremonies." (Yes, the same knight riding on the white horse to save the damsel. The horse was probably cleaner.)
• The Chinese invented the first real toothbrush in 1498. However, it wasn't until WWII when the U.S. enforced teeth brushing on their soldiers that the act became routine. (Ummm ... that wasn't that long ago. It took over 400 years for it to catch on! Did no one smile back then or even kiss?)
• Urea in urine can kill fungi and bacteria, so ancient Egyptians and Aztecs used urine to treat cuts and burns by rubbing it onto their skin. (Can you say Eau de PeePee? It definitely gives Eau de Toilette a new definition.)

Oh, I'll still read historicals because I love history and the fantasy that the past affords. I'm sure there were a lot of people, and different cultures, through the ages that were into hygiene but it's so funny that it's taken us so long to come this far with the general idea of hygiene and especially how it relates to health. Keeping your mouth healthy can help you live longer. Many people died in the last century in the U.S. because of bad gums. Crazy!

Enough of the history lessons. My characters now are in the present and smell very pleasant, thank you very much. Though if I ever write a historical I'll have to make the hero a compulsive bather or something. :P