Stink bombs have long been the weapon of choice for teenage boys, but there was a time when the Department of Defense harnessed the power of foul odor in their quest to demoralize the occupying German forces in World War II. “Who, Me?” was a top secret, sulfurous, non-lethal chemical weapon developed by MIT-graduate Ernest Crocker while working in the Research and Development branch of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. It was to be used by the French Resistance against German officers. Who, Me? smelled strongly of fecal matter and was issued in pocket atomizers intended to be unobtrusively sprayed on German officers, humiliating them and demoralizing the occupying German forces. Unfortunately, the experiment was short-lived because the chemicals had a high concentration of extremely volatile sulfur compounds that were very difficult to control. More often than not, the person who did the spraying also ended up smelling as bad as the one targeted. After only two weeks, it was concluded that Who, Me? was a complete failure.
