Museum's 1770s Artifact Smells Of Rum
Philadelphia's Museum of the American Revolution opens next year. It has an earthenware mug from the 1770s which still smells of rum poured by some Revolutionary-era drinker.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep with the smell of history. Philadelphia's Museum of the American Revolution opens next year. It has an earthenware mug from the 1770s which still smells of rum poured by some revolutionary drinker. Luckily, other early American smells cannot be recaptured. A book on the country's early years says before running water, even the most fastidious people bathed only once a week. Some bathed once a year, whether they needed it or not. It's MORNING EDITION.
Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.