There’s a new fragrance in town, but it’s not available at Barneys. Yet. The Israeli army has bottled the stench of death and is using it in training their soldiers to find decomposing bodies in the aftermath of bombings and other horror scenes. The scent is scattered around simulated disaster sites, which are also littered with bloody actors portraying injured civilians. (ynetnews.com via sploid)

“During incidents extend over a long period of time… it takes a while to reach the dead trapped under rubble, and their bodies decompose,” seminar commander Yisrael Rozin said. “The smell gets stronger and it can shake you the first time you encounter it.” The search for a scent resembling the dead was not an easy task. Rescue and medical professionals, who are familiar with the stench from personal experience, tested several chemical and organic substances before finding the exact “smell of death.”