John F Kennedy
A young John F. Kennedy believed Adolf Hitler might still be alive after the end of World War II, a diary entry has revealed. Reuters

We have seen the videos, read the reports and heard the final moments of President John F. Kennedy, but have you ever wondered what that smelled like? That's one of the curious questions being presented as part of the "Famous Deaths" installation at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Breda, Netherlands.

Sense of Smell - Famous Deaths
Illustration of the "Famous Deaths" installation. illustration by Paul van het Hullenaar / Famous deaths. Lead designers Marcel van Brakel and Frederik Deurinck

Frederik Duerinck, a professor from the communication and multimedia design faculty of Avans University of Applied Sciences in Breda, Netherlands, along with other scientists and students wanted to recreate the deaths of JFK, Princess Diana, Whitney Houston and Moammar Gadhafi as part of its "Sense of Smell" research project.

"What must it have been like to be near that car? You would smell an autumn wind, the grass, the leather car seats, Jackie Kennedy's perfume, exhaust fumes mingled with the somewhat musty scent of that limousine, and then suddenly the penetrating scent of blood, brains and gunpowder drilling its way into your nostrils," the researchers explain on the project's homepage.

The researchers chose to use smell because scent is "deeply rooted and directly connected with our emotions and memories." Scent can also create a more immediate reaction (even more than sight or sound) in the individual, the researchers argue. The installation was presented at the Tech Open Air 2014 conference on July 16.

The four famous deaths chosen for this installation are recreated in a metal boxes, Agence France-Presse reported. An individual will lie in one of the boxes and a soundtrack will begin to play. At different sections, a scent will be piped into the box to create the final moment. The sound of splashing water mixed with cleaning products, olive oil and a chemical smell similar to cocaine is used to recreate Houston's death, AFP reported.

Famous Deaths
Photo of the "Famous Deaths" installation. Paul van het Hullenaar

Researchers collected data from police reports, autopsies and publicly available information to create an accurate representation of the historical moment. Information regarding Jacqueline Kennedy's perfume was readily available, but the product itself was no longer manufactured. The researchers had to recreate her perfume for the installation. The researchers plan on taking the installation across Europe.