Past Scent (and Other Senses)

Past Scent (and Other Senses)

From The Past and The Curious: A History Podcast for Kids and Families by Mick Sullivan

April 30, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

The episode explores the journey of recreating the scent of an extinct flower from the 19th century.

How did an extinct flower not seen since 1881 wind up being the subject of a modern day project to recreate a scent from the past? It was a long path from Dr. Charles Short in the 1860s to Dr. Christina Agapakis in the 2010s. And it's a cool story!

People in this episode

Host: Mick Sullivan

Topics covered

  • extinct flowers
  • scent recreation
  • history of botany
  • scientific projects
  • 19th century science
  • modern science

Keywords

  • extinct flower
  • scent
  • Dr. Charles Short
  • Dr. Christina Agapakis
  • history
  • botany
  • recreation
  • science

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Past Scent

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