Cologne Drunkards

In the late nineteenth century, a brief moral panic emerged about the alleged existence of "cologne drunkards" — society women who inebriated themselves by means of sugar cubes soaked in cologne.

Seems like an expensive way to consume alcohol, but I guess it's plausible that some women really did this.

Good Health magazine - Apr 1885

Philadelphia Times - Feb 7, 1893

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 23, 2023
Category: Inebriation and Intoxicants | Nineteenth Century | Perfume and Cologne and Other Scents

Comments

That reminds me of "Mon Papa", a comic book about a child and his drunkard dad. One page told the story of how Dad came to drinking Mom's cologne. Seeing the squalor of Dad's apartment, it must have been dollar-store cologne, which explains how people could afford to drink this stuff, especially if they stole it first.

Posted by Yudith on 01/28/23 at 07:47 AM

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