Nathan Sherlock, the main character in my foodie thriller Gravity Games, has an unparalleled sense of smell.
That puts me constantly on the prowl for olfactory factoids and stories that I can weave into future mysteries for ‘Nate The Nose.’
I came across one that I think is pretty cool. You may question my sense of what’s cool.
The following website explains what gives a wet dog its special pungency.
http://www.aurametrix.com/topics/Wet-dog-odor
For those without the time to click the link, here’s the short version although I’ll caution that it may fall into the category of TMI.
The scent originates in the micro-organisms that live on Fido’s hair (I warned you). Turns out these guys may be tiny but in terms of producing foul-smelling volatile organic compounds, they are giants.
When water touches these compounds – remember that experiment where you pour Coke onto a bottle with a couple of Mentos in it? – well the result is like that only no foam, just a big kapow​ on the honker.
In order to sound smart, I’m listing the chemicals that trigger the wet dog smell:
Benzaldehyde
Phenylacetaldehyde
p-Cresol
Dimethyl trisulphide
Acetaldehyde
Phenol
2-methylbutanal
1-octen-3-ol
2-nonanone
2,3Dietyl-5-methylpyrazine
Some of it isn’t bad. Benzaldehyde smells like almonds or cherries and​ Acetaldehyde emits a perfume like roasted nuts. Phenyl acetaldehyde hints of a garden with roses, hyacinth and lilacs.
Sounds sweet but all those nice smelling compoun​ds are overpowered by the rest that give off a spectrum of odours that remind us of tar, pigs, human and animal waste, rotten meat, etc. etc. etc.