In ancient Egypt, wealthy people didn’t bury their dead. They mummified them.

What did these mummies smell like? A team of scientists analyzed a 3500-year-old mummy to find out. Turns out, they smelled pretty good.

Don’t stink!

“The main purpose of mummification was preserving the body for the afterlife,” says lead scientist Barbara Huber. “But it was also very important to the ancient Egyptians not to stink in the afterlife.”

Why was that?

“If you stink, it means your body is already decaying. To live for eternity, you needed to smell good.”