Likely concept, Tim.
I think I 'm right in saying that during the Great Plague ...the black death...it was believed that smelling flowers would prevent 'bad air' infecting them with plague. The truth of the matter was the fleas carried by the rats caused the outbreak. It was socio-economics which helped the aristocracy avoid the disease because they were less likely to come in regular contact with rats(and the fleas they carried) However, the overwhelming stench of poor sanitation and death 'encouraged'...those that could afford it ...posies of flowers to mask the smell. 2+2 were added together to make 5, as the rich were less prone to the plague and could afford frivalous bunches of flowers it was assumed that it was the flowers that prevented infection. From this it was deduced that the air was 'bad' and was causing the 'black death'.
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