Many people notice the smell of old books. Some people study it, and even write monographs: “Material Degradomics: On the Smell of Old Books,” Matija Strlic, Jacob Thomas, Tanja Trafela, Linda Csfalvayov, Irena Kralj Cigi, Jana Kolar, and May Cassar, Analytical Chemistry, vol. 81, no. 20, October 15, 2009, pp 8617–22, DOI 10.1021/ac9016049. [AIR 16:2] […]
Tag: scents
The Smell of Tornadoes
“The Smell of Tornadoes,” Howard G. Altschule and Bernard Vonnegut, Weatherwise, vol. 50, no. 2, 1997, pp. 24–5. Vonnegut, older brother of and inspiration to the novelist Kurt Vonnegut, was awarded the 1997 Ig Nobel Prize in meteorology for his 1975 report, “Chicken Plucking as Measure of Tornado Wind Speed.” This 1997 paper says [AIR […]
Why they make products smell
From New Scientist‘s Feedback column: HAVE you wondered why manufacturers have taken to adding scents to more and more consumer products – including car tyres (28 March 2009)? If so, a study in the US Journal of Consumer Research, has this answer: “Product scent may be particularly effective at enhancing memory for product information as […]
Smells ethical, or so they say
People are unconsciously fairer and more generous when they are in clean-smelling environments, according to a …study led by a Brigham Young University professor. The research found a dramatic improvement in ethical behavior with just a few spritzes of citrus-scented Windex. Katie Liljenquist, assistant professor of organizational leadership at BYU’s Marriott School of Management, is […]