A stink bomb that could be launched with arrows was invented by Leonardo da Vinci.
The 1972 U.S. presidential campaign of Edmund Muskie was disrupted at least four times in Florida in 1972 with the use of stink bombs during the Florida presidential primary. Stink bombs were set off at campaign picnics in Miami and Tampa, at the Muskie campaign headquarters in Tampa and at offices in Tampa where the campaign's telephone bank was located. The stink bomb plantings served to disrupt the picnics and campaign operations, and was deemed by the U.S. Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities of the U.S. Senate to have "disrupted, confused, and unnecessarily interfered with a campaign for the office of the Presidency".
In 2004, it was reported that the Israeli weapons research and development directorate had created a liquid stink bomb, dubbed the "skunk bomb", with an odor that lingers for five years on clothing. It is a synthetic stink bomb based upon the chemistry of the spray that is emitted from the anal glands of the skunk. It was designed as a crowd control tool to be used as a deterrent that causes people to scatter, such as at a protest. It has been described as a less than lethal weapon.