5 ms·

In the article: “The odours defied the expected effects of dilution since workers in the laboratory did not find the odours intolerable.”

by 3s 4y ago

rsfern 4y ago
I think that bit is saying the chemists who synthesized the compound were desensitized to it, it’s right after a passage where they were ostracized and sprayed with deodorant at a restaurant during lunch
- CommitSyn 4y ago
  Full quote, which seems to say it defies the expected effects of dilution _because_ the chemists weren't bothered by it when they were right next to it, but when they were many yards away they could. "The odours defied the expected effects of dilution since workers in the laboratory did not find the odours intolerable ... and genuinely denied responsibility since they were working in closed systems. To convince them otherwise, they were dispersed with other observers around the laboratory, at distances up to a quarter of a mile, and one drop of either acetone gem-dithiol or the mother liquors from crude trithioacetone crystallisations were placed on a watch glass in a fume cupboard. The odour was detected downwind in seconds." In other words, the smell intensity increases with dilution, _not_ decreases. We must protect this data from the homeopaths.
- junon 4y ago
  I don't think so. In NileRed's video it was clear that dilution made the odor worse than bring right next to it, which otherwise invoked a "chemical"-ey smell rather than a putrid trash+sewage smell.
- black6 4y ago
  Hydrogen sulfide rapidly desensitized the nose, it wouldn't be surprising for other sulfur compounds to do the same.
JohnBooty 4y ago
I've never smelled this chemical, but I wonder if it's a little bit like skunk spray smell? There's a saying! "Skunks don't have the WORST smell, just the MOST smell" It's not the worst smell in the world. I would say it's not even remotely as unpleasant as summertime "dumpster soup", sewage, or whatever. But man, skunk smell is just so intense and overwhelming.
- dieselgate 4y ago
  Yes your last sentence all the way
- toomanyrichies 4y ago
  > “Skunks don't have the WORST smell, just the MOST smell" I did my coding bootcamp in downtown Chicago, near the Merch Mart, and (at least back in 2013) there was a chocolate factory not too far away. I remember walking to class and being almost overpowered by the smell. For awhile it turned me off of chocolate entirely, and I normally have a pretty strong sweet tooth. I remember feeling so sorry for the people who had to work there, day after day.
  - masklinn 4y ago
    > I remember feeling so sorry for the people who had to work there, day after day. As a kid one of the tours we did was a chocolate factory. When the person leading the tour told us the employee told us workers were allowed to take as much chocolate as they wanted we were super jealous. At the end of the tour, there was a buffet of chocolate snacks nobody wanted to touch (though we were allowed to and did bring bags of products home), the person told us that after a day of working at the factory, most workers have no taste for chocolate snacks whatsoever, and those which do will generally fuck up, binge, get an indigestion, and at best be a lot more reasonable (at worse stop eating chocolate if it was bad enough). Without the allure of the forbidden fruit (sneaking snacks out), chocolate is definitely overpowering enough that it's a turn-off.
  - culebron21 4y ago
    I live in 3 blocks from a chocolate factory, and don't find it disturbing. Rather nice. The first time I felt it at a marketplace nearby, and thought someone was making some hot chocolate stuff, and even wanted to take a look what it was, but couldn't find. Sometimes it gives a mild chocolate smell around, nothing more.

In the article: “The odours defied the expected effects of dilution since workers in the laboratory did not find the odours intolerable.”

by 3s 4y ago

In the article: “The odours defied the expected effects of dilution since workers in the laboratory did not find the odours intolerable.”

rsfern 4y ago

I think that bit is saying the chemists who synthesized the compound were desensitized to it, it’s right after a passage where they were ostracized and sprayed with deodorant at a restaurant during lunch

CommitSyn 4y ago
Full quote, which seems to say it defies the expected effects of dilution _because_ the chemists weren't bothered by it when they were right next to it, but when they were many yards away they could. "The odours defied the expected effects of dilution since workers in the laboratory did not find the odours intolerable ... and genuinely denied responsibility since they were working in closed systems. To convince them otherwise, they were dispersed with other observers around the laboratory, at distances up to a quarter of a mile, and one drop of either acetone gem-dithiol or the mother liquors from crude trithioacetone crystallisations were placed on a watch glass in a fume cupboard. The odour was detected downwind in seconds." In other words, the smell intensity increases with dilution, _not_ decreases. We must protect this data from the homeopaths.
junon 4y ago
I don't think so. In NileRed's video it was clear that dilution made the odor worse than bring right next to it, which otherwise invoked a "chemical"-ey smell rather than a putrid trash+sewage smell.
black6 4y ago
Hydrogen sulfide rapidly desensitized the nose, it wouldn't be surprising for other sulfur compounds to do the same.

JohnBooty 4y ago

I've never smelled this chemical, but I wonder if it's a little bit like skunk spray smell? There's a saying! "Skunks don't have the WORST smell, just the MOST smell" It's not the worst smell in the world. I would say it's not even remotely as unpleasant as summertime "dumpster soup", sewage, or whatever. But man, skunk smell is just so intense and overwhelming.

dieselgate 4y ago
Yes your last sentence all the way
toomanyrichies 4y ago
> “Skunks don't have the WORST smell, just the MOST smell" I did my coding bootcamp in downtown Chicago, near the Merch Mart, and (at least back in 2013) there was a chocolate factory not too far away. I remember walking to class and being almost overpowered by the smell. For awhile it turned me off of chocolate entirely, and I normally have a pretty strong sweet tooth. I remember feeling so sorry for the people who had to work there, day after day.
- masklinn 4y ago
  > I remember feeling so sorry for the people who had to work there, day after day. As a kid one of the tours we did was a chocolate factory. When the person leading the tour told us the employee told us workers were allowed to take as much chocolate as they wanted we were super jealous. At the end of the tour, there was a buffet of chocolate snacks nobody wanted to touch (though we were allowed to and did bring bags of products home), the person told us that after a day of working at the factory, most workers have no taste for chocolate snacks whatsoever, and those which do will generally fuck up, binge, get an indigestion, and at best be a lot more reasonable (at worse stop eating chocolate if it was bad enough). Without the allure of the forbidden fruit (sneaking snacks out), chocolate is definitely overpowering enough that it's a turn-off.
- culebron21 4y ago
  I live in 3 blocks from a chocolate factory, and don't find it disturbing. Rather nice. The first time I felt it at a marketplace nearby, and thought someone was making some hot chocolate stuff, and even wanted to take a look what it was, but couldn't find. Sometimes it gives a mild chocolate smell around, nothing more.