Reviews

Incense: Rituals, Mystery, Lore by Gina Hyams, Susie Cushner

sriq's review

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"Cheap incense, often in cloyingly sweet flavors like strawberry, pineapple, and peach, tends to be made by dipping 'punk' sticks (bamboo slivers coated in sawdust and glue) into harshly scented chemical solutions."

"A study by the Smell and Taste Research Foundation supported this folk wisdom with the scientific finding that pumpkin pie mixed with lavendar is the odor men find most sexually arousing."

"[Incense] encourages flights of imagination--no surprise, considering that the word inspiration means 'to breathe in.'"

"Some biblical scholars speculate that the kings may have been carrying fragrant, golden-colored ambergris instead of actual gold."
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