THEN I goggled to find out the rest of the story. (Doing this in the beginning would have saved me some minor angst, but I am sure the minor puzzle was good for my brain.)

Yes, orris root is a fixative used in potpourri; yes some peoples skin IS irritated by it, yes it was used in many salves and remedies for skin problems none-the-less.

But just think of the young lady using this remedy for the first time only to find that it triggered an allergic reaction in her?

Sometimes you need to get worse to get better?

As for the gasoline thing, that is a description of dry cleaning as practiced at the turn of the last century. Today they use less flammable solvents, but the principle is the same. If you are tempted to try it, use coleman fuel and not the gasoline you buy for your car. Sometimes the old ways are best. Just think of how your natural scent will be enhanced by the residual hydrocarbons – ala The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. (But don’t complain too loudly when someone strikes a spark and immolates you as you walk down the street.)

When a young man buys his sweetheart a box of chocolates on the way to a theatre, is it proper to open the box before entering the theatre? – A Journal Reader.

The general custom is to open the box of chocolates after the first act.

I surely wish I had known this a third of a century ago. No telling how many girls I drove away by opening the chocolates too early.

I do wonder what today’s equivalent questions- and answers- would be