Some years ago, an Israeli company called (appropriately) Odortec developed a special water that smells so bad that it is used in Israel and the US as a nonviolent means of breaking up demonstrations. Although Israeli authorities are very careful about how they handle it since it smells so bad, they use it regularly.
A BBC reporter described its effects as follows:
"Imagine the worst, most foul thing you have ever smelled. An overpowering mix of rotting meat, old socks that haven't been washed for weeks - topped off with the pungent waft of an open sewer. . . Imagine being covered in the stuff as it is liberally sprayed from a water cannon. Then imagine not being able to get rid of the stench for at least three days, no matter how often you try to scrub yourself clean."
Despite all this, company officials say that the water is actually safe to drink.
Spraying skunk water
The Indian police force has been on the lookout for a long time now for nonlethal means to disperse riots and demonstrations since dummy bullets and smoke guns have left blind and dead victims in the Kashmir region. With the consolidation of security means between Pakistan and India, it was natural for India to turn to Israel and ask to import means of dispersing demonstrations. "We used chili grenades, tear gas, color grenades colored smoke grenades, rubber bullets, spray guns and double layered tear gas - but they failed to produce the desired results," the Indian Interior Ministry explained to the Telegraph.
So they decided to try out the Israeli made Skunk Water, a product that stinks of sewage and carrion rot when sprayed around. The concoction is so strong that it can't be washed away even after several showers. Israel has been using this since 2008 to break up Palestinian flare-ups with great success. It is also used in the US. Indian security forces, reports the Hindustan Times, decided to try this repellent as a nonviolent means to diffuse and de-fuse demonstrations.
However, the experiment was a classic failure. The Indian police force sprayed the brew on a mass uproar in New Delhi but it didn't have any effect. "No one budged a centimeter," the official in the Interior Ministry admitted. Apparently the Israeli smell is not potent enough for the average Indian citizen. "Our people apparently have a higher threshold for foul smells," he concluded.
The media was not surprised by the results. "Most Indians are universally exposed to awful smells since childhood, be it in the home, the street and in public transportation. Often enough, in the workplace as well. Therefore, it is no wonder that they have a high resistance to it," the media commented.
