Have you ever wondered where that little tree air-freshener in your car comes form? Wonder no more, here's the story.

Those air-fresheners were invented by Julius Samann in the 1950s. He was a German-Jewish chemist that had fled the Natz in World War II. He was living in Watertown, NY when one day the milkman complained to him about the stench of spoiled milk that would take over his truck.

That set Samann off on a quest to create something that would help fight the bad odors. Drawing on his chemistry background and some work he did studying trees in Canadian forests, Samann worked to find a way to use infuse tree oils onto paper. That would then bring the smell off the outside inside.

When perfected his technique, Samann started selling the trees out of a former car shop. He'd also send samples to gas stations. The rest is smelly car history. Check out this cool video for more of the story.

 


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