Question #148286. Asked by unclerick.
Last updated Feb 10 2021.
Originally posted Feb 09 2021 7:46 PM.
For much of the second half of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, ozone was considered a healthy component of the environment by naturalists and health-seekers. Beaumont, California had as its official slogan "Beaumont: Zone of Ozone", as evidenced on postcards and Chamber of Commerce letterhead.[14] Naturalists working outdoors often considered the higher elevations beneficial because of their ozone content. "There is quite a different atmosphere [at higher elevation] with enough ozone to sustain the necessary energy [to work]", wrote naturalist Henry Henshaw, working in Hawaii.[15] Seaside air was considered to be healthy because of its believed ozone content; but the smell giving rise to this belief is in fact that of halogenated seaweed metabolites.[16]
Much of ozone's appeal seems to have resulted from its "fresh" smell, which evoked associations with purifying properties.
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