Old People Smell Better Than Young People

Old people do indeed have a distinctive odor, say scientists, but it's a lot better than reputation and bad jokes would suggest. A study involving the unenviable task of sniffing underarm pads found that those aged 75 to 95 gave off a scent more pleasant and less intense than most of those in two younger groups, ages 20 to 30 and 45 to 55, reports the Los Angeles Times. Another quirk: Sniffers could detect gender differences in the younger groups, but not the oldest one, notes the Washington Post.

"As you grow older, you smell more and more like a woman," says the lead scientist, citing changes in men's hormones. "It's almost as if you're going back to what happened before puberty." Their female counterparts fared the best overall. (More body odor stories.)