The curator and curatorial assistant of the Plains Indian Museum once noticed an odd odor in one of the museum’s storage areas. This isn’t something that is welcome in museum collections since it usually means something is getting ruined.
As they were trying to find where the stench was coming from, they noticed a bulky rawhide parfleche envelope. The smell wasn't originating from it. Turns out the smell was from a parfleche that wasn't tanned correctly but they wanted to make sure there wasn't perishable content inside.