Answer: Patchouli Oil

If you were a child in the early 1980s, there’s a good chance you recall the He-Man: Masters of the Universe cartoon and the heavily marketed companion toys. Among the toys there was one particularly memorable one: Stinkor. As the name would imply, Stinkor smelled terrible (in the He-Man canon he was a skunk-man who had magical control over his intensely foul smell).

The rather memorable smell of the action figure was achieved by impregnating the plastic with the scent of patchouli oil, a decision we can only assume predisposed the aforementioned children of the 80s to assume head shops and health food stores were secret villain lairs.

If you’re into collecting 1980s toys and worried that perhaps the Stinkor you finally happen upon to complete your He-Man collection will have lost his stench, we assure you that whatever process Mattel used provided plenty for the ages; our experience with finding forgotten-about Stinkor figures in attics and garage sales is that time does nothing to dull his skunk-like powers.