What is the Perfume Hoax?

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 6, 2022)

1

Some people love to pass e-mails on to their friends, particularly e-mails that report of possible dangers and threats that they feel are credible. Unfortunately, this is also the way that urban legends and totally untrue stories are spread—by well-meaning people who fail to investigate what they are reading.

The "perfume hoax" is one such urban legend. It is apparently based on the strange 1999 story of Bertha Johnson from Mobile, Alabama. Johnson reported to police that she was approached by two men who asked her to smell a perfume sample and provide her opinion concerning the scent. When she smelled the scent, she passed out and was robbed of $800.

While Johnson's story may be true (it was not substantiated through testing), that didn't stop a rash of e-mails warning anyone and everyone to be careful that they didn't fall victim to devious people who wanted to knock them out and steal their valuables.

Fact of the matter is, there is no known additive that could be used with perfume to instantly knock out a person. Even in the movies, bad guys with "knockout drops" have to add them to a cloth and hold it over a victim's nose and mouth for several seconds.

So, next time you get an e-mail that talks about perfume knocking people out, just hit your delete key. Focus your attention, instead, on finding the scent that works best for your many moods!

If you want additional information on the perfume hoax, here are a few places you can visit:

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Nesting IF Worksheet Functions

The IF worksheet function is very handy to make conditional evaluations. You are not limited to a single IF comparison, ...

Discover More

Watermarks in Columns

If you are creating small flyers (two per page), you may want to include a watermark graphic in the background of each of ...

Discover More

Using the INT Worksheet Function

The INT function allows you to convert a value to an integer. The effect the function has depends on the characteristics ...

Discover More
More Beauty Tips

Perfume as a Gift

Perfume can be a great and thoughtful gift, but you do need to be careful. Here's how to give perfume as a gift and have ...

Discover More

Getting Perfume to Last Longer

Getting your perfume to last longer is not that hard; there are a few things that can be done to accomplish this. With ...

Discover More

When to Pay More for a Designer Fragrance

Designer fragrances are expensive because they are unique, and use the highest quality ingredients. You should pay more ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven more than 3?

2016-10-17 13:17:36

I was deplorable before it was cool

Hey Allen,
What is the easiest way to remove blood from bedsheets? Also loving the tip about using lye as a face moisturizer.








p.s. Linustechtips is much better imo.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.