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Want To Smell Like A Viking? It's A Sure Way To Impress The Ladies

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The modern Chicago man aspires to be many things: rugged, stylish, sensitive and well-groomed, just to mention a few important qualities.

And, make no mistake, it is hard to resist a man who smells like a Viking--combining the scent of pine, red meat, blood, sweat, smoke and seawater.

At least that is what tourist officials in the city of York in the United Kingdom believe.

A few months back, they launched a new body spray called "Norse Power."

Tourists were invited to test the spray, but there is no evidence that is is actually for sale online.

One woman said it smelled like a cow; a man said it smelled like him after a 13-hour workday.

The fragrance is part of a York marketing campaign that also promotes a book of York smells, including "a musty infusion of leather, old books, gold, silver, wood and dust"; "a combination of horse hair, hoof oil, grass and fruit punch"; and "the relaxing scent of York and Yorkshire's lavender gardens."

norsepower-viking-deoderant
(Credit: City Of York tourism)

York, which is located 400 miles north of London, was the heart of Viking culture in Britain after it was attacked by Viking invaders in the year 866.

The creators claim it is truly a formidable scent, "a fearsome musk of battle gore, sweat, mead, forest pine, meat, seawater and the smoke of burning fires."

(When this was described to some women folk around here, they all swooned. Really, they did.)

"With just one spray the daring wearer of Norse Power will instantly take on the smell of a fierce Viking warrior fresh from a raid in the Middle Ages."

However, it remains to be seen if the scent of "Norse Power" will be as effective as the "Sex Panther" cologne featured in the movie "Anchor Man."

Fans will recall it was made with "bits of real panther" and "60% of the time, it works every time."

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