Talk:Patchouli

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Patchouli is a plant which is harvested for it's scented oils. It was very popular with the hippie movement of the 60s. it has a repulsive smell.



The article does not make a difference between Indian Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) and Javanese Patchouli (Pogostemon heyneahus). Both have been used for industrial reasons. 84.61.192.70 19:45, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Clarifications requested:

"Patchouli..grows well in southern climates" - Are we talking in reference to the Northern Hemisphere? As in, it grows well closer to the Equator? Or in reference to the Southern Hemisphere, where it grows well closer to the south pole?

"..is associated with an alternative lifestyle" - no other elaboration is given. Requesting more info, or elimination of that line. Otherwise it's an incomplete bit of information. TKarrde 19:41, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Patchouli is associated with Hippies and New Age believers. If you've ever walked into a "smoke shop" in America, you'd understand this. Most Patchouli jokes don't make sense without this key fact. 13Nov06

This article would benefit greatly from integrating the content of the German article. That would also resolve the above question. They also differentiate between Indian Patchouli and Javanese Patchouli. __meco 13:00, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

"Patchouli..grows well in southern climates" ... Changed to "warm to tropical" since Antarctica would be the most extreme Southern climate on offer! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.116.131.6 (talk) 16:31, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Stinkor

Removed from trivia section for lack of citation:

~ Booya Bazooka 05:55, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Apple Computer Costumers

Removed from trivia due to lack of citation ;)

"Apple Computer customers smell like patchouli." 81.210.189.211 16:43, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I also removed "Patchouli smells terrible" from the External Links section. That text was added by the same user in a subsequent edit... Cecilkorik 01:48, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Why? The user was right. Patchouli is about the worst smelling shit in the world, apart from shit itself.

Patchouli makes shit smell like roses.

[edit] Commentary

Removed the following paragraph from the bottom of the Trivia section, which looks to me like it was intended for the talk page as commentary on various aspects of the link between patchouli scent and marijuana scent.

== Patchouli was not solely popular for covering up the fragrance of cannabis, this statement was made on ill-judgement. It is an exotic fragrance just as popular as the famous Nag Champa. Also the two fragrances (cannabis and pathouli) are entirely different, just to clarify because there are a few people in the U.S. who upon smelling a person who wears the fragrance falsely accuse as the smell of cannabis. It is easier to mis-understand that to understand. Learn, Knowledge is love and trust. == Cecilkorik 01:48, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, yeah. You wouldn't use something that would be mistaken for cannabis to cover up the smell. If someone smells something on or near you and thinks it is cannabis, that defeats the entire purpose of covering the cannabis smell. While I can't provide a citation that it is a widely used phenomenon, I know lots of hippies, and every one has used both Patchouli and the aforementioned Nag Champa (not at the same time, of course) to cover the cannabis smell at one point in time 74.194.27.245 02:27, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Deleting "Trivia" Section

I am deleting the entire trivia section for this entrie. It section seems non-encyclopedic in character. None of the remarks in it are notable, significant, or add to the understanding of the plant in question. It feels like it's just been gathering miscellanea. Darwin Peacock 10:13, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

I object to this judgment and have reverted the change. I have however changed the name of the section from Trivia to References in popular culture for which I have noticed a precedent in other Wikipedia articles. __meco 21:51, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Flaubert's take on patchouli

The article is too oriented to the 20th century. Patchouli is mentioned at least twice in Flaubert's "Madame Bovary", so I suspect it was iconic then, and open to his wit. No other scent raises such sharp taste divisions as patchouli, not just in the USA. They are tripart: like; dislike; like-but-wouldn't-dare-myself. It would be interesting determine sensory-physiological and/or cultural factors in this. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dcouzin (talk • contribs) 23:47, 27 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Patchouli and the Army

Deleting the reference. This is anectdotal at best and doesn't really pass the "smell test". it's highly doubtful that the Army would incur the cost of procuring an essential oil for this purpose; imagine what the cost would be, and the nightmare of standardizing the product to meet Army procurement standards. Yes, it is possible that individual soldiers may have used patchouli, but that is hardly enought to warrant inclusion in an encylopedia entry.

Mfrench518 (talk) 16:08, 18 December 2007 (UTC)