What's that smell? Ugh. It's like thousands of years of body odor… with a hint of April-fresh daisies and crisp apples. That's right. It's deodorant! And as unsavory as it is to contemplate, this hygienic staple has only been around for the last 120 years. Prior to the late-1800s, personal stinkiness was just a part of life, sporadically masked with perfume between occasional baths. Those that could afford it tried to cut down on personal air pollution, covering themselves in sweet-smelling minerals and plant extracts. Those that couldn't afford it remained odiferous. Just imagine: after a long day of pushing a plow or sweating over a hot stove… washing up for dinner would be the only way to keep your appetite. But in 1888, the world caught a whiff of a new zinc chloride and wax paste being applied under arms that reduced sweating and killed odor-causing bacteria. Thanks to a mysterious inventor in Philadelphia, whose name we still don't know, that first commercially-available deodorant antiperspirant was sold under the trademark Mum (like the flower). And although we can't credit the publicity-shy inventor by name, Ms. Helen Barnett Diserens (born 1919) gets kudos for later enshrining that goopy paste in America's Hygiene Hall of Fame. You see, in the late 1940s, Helen worked for the company that manufactured Mum. And when she saw the design of the newly-invented ballpoint pen, she smelled money. In 1952, her redesigned package wafted into stores under the name “Ban Roll-On.” So the next time you're hugging your great-Aunt Gertrude or giving everyone the silent treatment in a crowded elevator, you can thank Helen Diserens and that anonymous, smelly guy in Pennsylvania (the one we mentioned earlier) for changing the world, one armpit at a time.

Illuminating Moments in American History
From the accidental invention of the microwave to the love story of rubber gloves, these 68 animated video shorts (shadow puppet style!) chronicle the history of unexpected American innovation.

Produced, written, and directed by Nathan Marsh. Art and Animation by Joel West and Isaac Windham. Sound by Scott Sprague. Narration by Carol Munse.