The Woman Woman's Shippy Mind Mansion

smithsonianmag: That “Old Book Smell” Is a Mix of Grass and...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:04:00 -0400

That “Old Book Smell” Is a Mix of Grass and Vanilla

By Colin Schultz

Photo: David Flores

Smell is chemistry, and the chemistry of old books gives your cherished tomes their scent. As a book ages, the chemical compounds used—the glue, the paper, the ink–begin to break down. And, as they do, they release volatile compounds—the source of the smell. A common smell of old books, says the International League for Antiquarian Booksellers, is a hint of vanilla: “Lignin, which is present in all wood-based paper, is closely related to vanillin. As it breaks down, the lignin grants old books that faint vanilla scent.”

A study in 2009 looked into the smell of old books, finding that the complex scent was a mix of “hundreds of so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into the air from the paper,” says the Telegraph. Here’s how Matija Strlic, the lead scientist behind that study, described the smell of an old book:

A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness, this unmistakable smell is as much a part of the book as its contents.

Ed note: What makes rain smell so good?

pterocera: Source.

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:55:51 -0400

pterocera:

Source.

xlessax: This hit me straight in the feels :D

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:54:27 -0400

xlessax:

This hit me straight in the feels :D

This looks so much like a snapshot from Cas’s first winter...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:37:31 -0400

This looks so much like a snapshot from Cas’s first winter after he falls…

- “Give me the camera, Sam.”

- “No Cas, we need a picture of you! It’s your winter with us in the bunker.”

- [from a distance]”Damnit Sammy you’ve taken 100 pictures already! Give Cas the damn camera, let him take a few”

- “The last time I did that we wound up with 100 shots of your face”

- “Shut UP Sam”

- “Bitch”

- “Jerk”

- “You are both assbuts. I will take the camera now.”

chiefleisure: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:38:17 -0400

chiefleisure:

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Their ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Me with romantic interest: Hi, how've you been lately? How's that project you're working on? Yeah? I'd love to see sometime, dude! How's the family? Good, good. Well, I'll talk to you later! Yeah we definitely need to hang out more often. Hopefully see you soon! :)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:36:14 -0400

Me with romantic interest: Hi, how've you been lately? How's that project you're working on? Yeah? I'd love to see sometime, dude! How's the family? Good, good. Well, I'll talk to you later! Yeah we definitely need to hang out more often. Hopefully see you soon! :)
Me with platonic friend: YOU GORGEOUS CREATURE HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE LAST I SAW YOU? HOW I'VE MISSED YOUR LUCID DIAMOND EYES, UGH I JUST WANT TO KISS YOU AND MAKE SWEET, SWEET LOVE UNDER THE MOONLIGHT. WHY ARE YOU SO PERFECTLY SCULPTED, ARE YOU AN ANGEL MADE OF MARBLE LET'S GET MARRIED.

ahouseoficeandfire: Hannibal NBC

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:33:56 -0400

ahouseoficeandfire:

Hannibal NBC

havingajonfire: reads nc-17 slash fiction as bedtime story

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:32:12 -0400

havingajonfire:

reads nc-17 slash fiction as bedtime story

the-beautiful-world: da-wakko: 2kurokku: Hetalia TBW...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:31:35 -0400

the-beautiful-world:

da-wakko:

2kurokku:

Hetalia TBW Character CD Vol. 5 & 6

SPAZZES HOLY FUCK AMERICA BLESS YOU

July 24 why you no come faster?

On France’s cape it has the words Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite…bless you Himaruya.

And America. That is all. America.

my-unironic-thoughts: walk into the club like never mind lets go home and watch Star Trek

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:30:09 -0400

my-unironic-thoughts:

walk into the club like never mind lets go home and watch Star Trek

Photo

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:29:31 -0400

yellowcars-andparties: {Old Sport is said 94 times in the movie. I counted the second time I...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:40:33 -0400

yellowcars-andparties:

{Old Sport is said 94 times in the movie.

I counted the second time I went.

I counted.}

shadesoftay: “You think it’s too much?”

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:20:32 -0400

shadesoftay:

“You think it’s too much?”

willgrahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam: spn meme [2/4]...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:59:12 -0400

willgrahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam:

spn meme [2/4] otps

dean/castiel

suddenly-steinberg: Oh my!

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:58:59 -0400

suddenly-steinberg:

Oh my!

tacoposey: what if we just created a fandom for a tv show that doesn’t exist and we build it up...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:56:19 -0400

tacoposey:

what if we just created a fandom for a tv show that doesn’t exist and we build it up really big and make a ton of inside jokes until the internet just accepts it as a real show and it starts getting included in polls and gets it’s own imdb page and a group of outsiders go crazy trying to find dl links

Photo

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:55:41 -0400

twoandahalffucksigive: Sarek and Amanda appreciation post.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:54:11 -0400

twoandahalffucksigive:

Sarek and Amanda appreciation post.

perlockholmes: lunaticandinlovewithuk: thedoctorsjawn: [x] it...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:52:57 -0400

perlockholmes:

lunaticandinlovewithuk:

thedoctorsjawn:

[x]

it’s killing me

*sniffles* stop it

s4karuna: Star Trek fancasting ▶ Catherine Tate as Scotty...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:52:09 -0400

s4karuna:

Star Trek fancasting ▶ Catherine Tate as Scotty Prime

“There’s an old, old saying on earth, Mr. Sulu: ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.’”

#i’ve come to associate scotty with sparks and fireworks #i imagine this kind of stuff happens regularly down in engineering

I would love to see Catherine play every character in Star Trek