/oss/taxonomy/term/668/all en /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/tigers-and-jaguars-are-attracted-scent-calvin-kleins-obsession-men <p>This surprising fact was initially discovered by researchers at the Bronx Zoo who compared twenty-three different perfumes’ abilities to attract tigers’ attention. One of the least successful was Estée Lauder’s <em>Beautiful</em> which kept cats occupied only for 2 seconds. Revlon’s <em>Charlie</em> worked for 15.5 seconds, Nina Ricci’s <em>L’Air du Temps</em> for 10.4 minutes, but the clear winner was Calvin Klein’s <em>Obsession for Men</em> which kept the cats concentrating on it for 11.1 minutes. </p> Fri, 25 Jan 2019 17:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7555 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/sperm-whale-perfume <p>Sperm whales produce a black, smelly substance called ambergris which changes to a pleasant smell when exposed to air. It is rare and expensive but is used as a base in some perfumes. Ambergris also has a folk reputation as a soothing odour for nervous complaints and inhaling ambergis based products is believed by some to increase brain function. Judging by how much these people shell out for ambergris based products, if anything, it seems to impair brain function.</p> <hr /> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/joeschwarcz">@JoeSchwarcz</a></p> Wed, 10 May 2017 18:11:15 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2425 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-household-products-news-technology/ophone <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=6920"><img alt="ophone" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2014/11/ophone-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Your cell phone wakes you up in the morning. No big deal. You reach over to turn off the alarm, touch another button, and suddenly the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts into your nose. But no point reaching for the cup, there isn’t one. The scent is drifting out from the phone! If you would rather wake up to the odour frying bacon and toast, that’s possible too. Welcome to the wonderful world of the “oPhone.” And we are not talking science fiction here; the oPhone already exists and will be hitting the market soon. Not only will you be able to entertain your nasal passages with a multitude of fragrances, you will also be able to send scent messages. Imagine irritating your friends back home with the scent of tropical fruit along with a picture of yourself swinging in a hammock and sipping a pina colada somewhere in the tropics. Of course your friends will have to be equipped with an oPhone.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">So what makes this magic happen? A set of eight replaceable chips, each containing four “building-block scents” that can be dispensed in response to an electronic signal. The 32 basic smells can be combined to dispense a fantastic array of aromas. Select “meaty,” “cheesy” and “grilled toast,” and you’ll conjure up the odour of a cheeseburger. And of course you can experiment. Who knows what sort of a whiff you’ll get by pushing the “cocoa beans” and “meaty” buttons?</p> <p style="text-align:justify">It sounds like the oPhone could be a lot of fun, but can this technology be put to some useful purpose? Maybe. You just finished dinner and there is that delectable dessert staring you in the face. You know you shouldn’t indulge, but it looks so good. Perhaps you’ll whip out your oPhone, push a button and the unpleasant smell of rotting meat will kill your appetite. There is even the possibility of diagnosing early Alzheimer’s disease. The inability to recognize certain scents has been linked with the early stage of this disease. And maybe the oPhone can even deal with the situation by helping with memory. Studies have shown that reading something while being exposed to a scent can lead to improved recall in the presence of the same scent. Trigger a smell from your phone as you put down your keys. When you want to find them again, push the button for the same scent and you’ll remember where you put them. Maybe. Of course this method won’t work to find a lost oPhone.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2014/11/21/the-ophone">Read more</a></p> Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:23:40 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2212 at /oss /oss/article/quirky-science/stay-away-old-goats <p><span>Think of a ghastly smell. Skunk? Halitosis? BO? Outhouse? Rotting fish? Rancid butter? Dog flatus? Decomposing flesh? All devastating. But let’s not forget the penetrating fragrance of a billy goat. Especially a wet one. That will horrify any nose. Unless that billy goat, or "buck" in more scientific terms, happens to be castrated. Along with the loss of manhood comes the loss of smell. Actually “smell” doesn’t do the aroma justice. “Reek” is a better description of the unforgettable stench. And if you handle one of these animals you will learn what “unforgettable” means.</span></p> Sun, 01 Mar 2015 04:01:20 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2238 at /oss /oss/article/history/story-perfume <p>“Purple the sails, and so perfumed, that the winds were love-sick with them,” Shakespeare wrote. Cleopatra is said to have greeted Marc Antony on a boat with perfumed sails after the assassination of Julius Caesar and became the queen of Egypt. The use of perfume is mainly associated with mystery, fantasy and imagination. We wear perfume to please others, to leave a good impression, to surround ourselves with a pleasing, lingering scent. Although perfume does have a long history, it has not always carried a hint of romance.</p> Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:23:19 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1752 at /oss /oss/article/quirky-science-you-asked/what-difference-between-unscented-and-fragrance-free-products <p>Can a fragrance-free product have a smell? Absolutely. Can an unscented product contain any compounds that have a smell? Absolutely. It’s all a matter of semantics although there are no universally recognized definitions here. Unscented products are formulated to have no smell but can contain ingredients that have a smell but the smell has been neutralized by other components. A fragrance-free product cannot contain any ingredients that have been added to impart a smell but may contain ingredients that have a scent but are not added because of their scent.</p> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:32:46 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1788 at /oss