Uploaded August 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

---

What do onions, garlic, and pre-Roman goddesses have to do with skunks? Well, everything! Also, advice on what to do if you ever cross paths with this smelly creature... Did somebody say, "SKUNK SECRETIONS?!"

SUBSCRIBE! for more Popular Science on YouTube ►► http://pops.ci/yt-sub || Come for the science, stay for the skunk secretions.

* * *

Video by Tom McNamara

"The Science of Why Skunks Smell"
—Narrated by Amy Schellenbaum

MEDIA
—Thomas Aldrich, "A chemical study of the secretion of the anal glands of mephitis mephitis"
—Jurassic Park, Universal Pictures
—Looney Tunes: "Scent-mental Over You," Warner Brothers
—Monty Python and the Holy Grail, EMI Films
—Pond5


For more sciencey smells, go to popsci.com

#skunks #science #skunksmell #whydoskunkssmell #whatisskunksmell #skunk #mephitis #mephitismephitis #onion #garlic #thiol #thiols #smells #smell #romangod #romangoddess #goddessmephitis #archive #retro #scishow #weird #worstsmells #whathappensifaskunkspraysyou #skunkspray #secretion #skunksecretion #vintage #vintagescience #biology #naturalhistory #nature #skunkvideos #skunkvideo #skunk #skunks #naturevideos #weird #kidscience #kids #education #youtubeedu #skunkfart #grossscience