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At the bottom of any civilized urinal in the Modern world, you will find a scented block of some kind. They come in different shapes, sizes, and fragrances. Some are covered in screens, and some lay it all out for the world to see. These are urinal mints, also known as "urinal blocks," "urinal deodorizers," and "urinal cakes." They have kept bathrooms smelling fresh for many years. So many years that, in fact, they have become a part of history.

A quiet adolescence followed as the urinal mint didn't see much action in the Renaissance. The Victorian Era created a urinal mint boon. Personal hygiene was once again in vogue. Pamphlets were circulated among the upper class stating masking bodily odors was the "proper" thing to do. The Victorians, disgusted by the smell of their own emissions, employed heavy perfumes to mask them (just like my grandmother). Still, the common man didn't enjoy urinal mints.

It would take American industrial might to make urinal mints commonplace. In the late 19^th century, mass plumbing lead to urinal production. The P.P. Urinal Co. made its urinals more marketable by selling little mint packets inside them. These packets contained the company's name on the outside. They were so popular that the P.P. Urinal Co. stopped making urinals altogether, and switched production to urinal mints. It was from this that the phrase "taking a P.P." was invented. This company would be the leading supplier of urinal mints through the first world war, eventually going out of business during the Great Depression. Smaller companies would take its place in the future.

Urinal mints donned their camouflage and followed the GI's into World War 2. Rear officer quarters were stocked with the mints in order to protect the officers' privates from harmful germs. On the Pacific front, it was discovered the mints scared bugs away. Paradichlorobenzene, the active ingredient in urinal mints, was also a known insecticide. The urinal mint combated malaria so our troops could combat the Japanese. This would cause ambitious companies to repackage 2lb blocks of urinal mints as "insect repellent candles." For the average Joe who came from a farm, the war was their first exposure to urinal mints. This will result in a huge post-war demand for them, as it was discovered men don't like the smell of pee.

Segregation issued a darker side to urinal mint history. By the 1960's, it was standard practice in public restrooms to have a urinal mints. The white restrooms all had nice, clean, cherry-scented mints. The black restrooms, it was later found out, had urinals stocked with coal. A study found that charcoal was a good, natural filter, so these were later replaced with hockey pucks. Unfortunately, hockey pucks were too expensive, so the toilets were simply removed, forcing the black men to place their "mints" in the urinals. This induced such resentment that the phrase "throwing your s--- around" was born.

The 1970's was the high time of disco, and some entrepreneurs tried to cash on the trend. This was when the wide assorted of urinal flavors came into fruition, such as: bubble gum, citronella plus, citrus crush, flower power, mulberry, peppermint, pine, spicy cinnamon, wild berry, wild cherry, and C-5. Urinal mints with a shag texture were invented at the height of the disco era, but they were quickly thrown away in the 80's backlash to disco. Still, the new fragrances invented in the 70's did much to advance the personality of urinal mints.

The 1990's showed rapid growth in the urinal mint business. Regrettably, para was out. The State of California deemed the chemical cancerous. Then again, this was the same state that made it illegal to drive a car if it had an engine in it. With the scarlet letter firmly in place on para, non-para urinal mints became popular. These kinds require screens around them to keep them in place. Otherwise, they would seep out of the urinals and try to consume humankind. Thanks a lot, California.

The American urinal mint industry has grown into a giant that amasses more than $200 million annually. This is more than the GDP of Finland. The writing is in the snow, Finland -- if you want to be competitive in the world market, you have to market yourself as a giant country of urinal mints. In short, let American men pee on you.