FOUND FOLIOS 4: Olbas Oil
This is the latest expiry date I’ve seen on a bottle of Olbas Oil:
Exp: Dec 2023. BN: 135281.
Olbas Oil. INHALANT DECONGESTANT. Relief from catarrh, colds and blocked sinuses.
That, of course, proved to be incorrect, like pretty much every expiry date. I’d estimate that particular bottle stayed potent until Spring 2027, satisfying until Summer 2030, and useful(ish) until Winter 2033. A whole 10 years of being one of the most underrated tools to grab.
I find a huge sense of comfort in seeing it pop up on notes to this day. In all of my years, here are the 3 times I’ve seen it mentioned:
Torn paper scrap, ‘Byron’s Pharmacy’:
gauz, olbas oil, batteries, water, snowfire, matches, antibac-
Note next to unmade sleeping bag, tent in car park:
found olbas oil & rennies. ull have to ask him for the rest. Maddy wouldnt let me go find ranititidine, said it causes cancer?? lol
Extract from logbook found in greenhouse:
Eucalyptus keeps dying. Roots don’t go deep enough. Only 1 of those left now, make sure whoever’s on next picks up the leaves. You can grind them up with some mint and it smells like olbas, helps the kids sleep
Unfortunately, even the odd unopened bottle that shows up is now stale. As defunct as the land that surrounds it. There’s still a hint of that familiar smell, but nothing compared to the nostalgic one I know. If anything, that diluted aroma is worse than just going without.
I guess the following is an ode to how useful Olbas Oil was in the early days. I’ll accompany it with some bits and pieces I’ve found that compliment my feelings.
Note, taped to welded-shut door in fire station:
DO NOT OPEN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
if you can read this small print, you can smell why this door is to be left SHUT.
Crime shows used to have new recruits put vapour-rub under their noses when investigating a scene for the first time. A spoiled cadaver, a bloated corpse — the idea was to show their naivety by showing their preparedness. Veterans, senior investigators, etc — they’d know that just getting used to the smell was a far better, long-term solution. One that didn’t bite you on the arse if you forgot you precious little tub.
I understand what they were going for, and find it easy to imagine that it happened like that in reality, too. But the apocalypse stinks. Or, rather, stank. Don’t get me wrong, it still absolutely reeks. That smell in the early days, though. It was on a level that even the most imaginative TV writer could never have mustered.
Olbas Oil was my precious little bottle. My saviour of choice. My weapon in an environment that weaponised your senses against you. A drop or two under each nostril, a drop or two on your chest — it really, truly wiped out the stench to a point where it was a lot more manageable. It lasted far longer than other rubs or marker competitors, and was easy enough to find; natural or handmade solutions weren’t really needed.
Journal entry, author and original location unknown:
They got Craig. Same spot as before, but she went for the cupboard. She never goes for the cupboard? She kept sniffing after. Shouldnt have looted that perfume shop, I guess. No big loss, though; just a lot of explaining
If you had to hide, the smell didn’t travel much beyond your person. If you had to venture through a particularly foul corridor, holding an open bottle just below your nose transported you back to a childhood sick-day. One where your Mother would dot the pillows with it, in a loving effort to stymie your (possibly imagined) cold, or overly-dramatic sinuses.
That nostalgia was just as powerful as the aroma, and got me through some rough times. For that reason, Olbas Oil should be capitalised. It was a good product.
If you are reading this, especially if you’re young, go try to find some. Even the most butchered remnants of a chemist or supermarket could have some. I now abstain, as it is a shadow of the substance I was fond of. But, for Olbas virgins out there, maybe it’ll do just the trick still.
~The Curator
