1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey Brainstuff, 2 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: Lauren bog Obam here with another classic episode from our archives. 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: Today we're talking about scent again, this time the complex 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: scent of libraries and the complex science of cataloging and 5 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: conserving the sense of places. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: Obam Here. If you're like me, you love the smell 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: of old fashioned analog paper books, old books, new books, 8 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: and researchers at University College London suggests that these scents 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: aren't just nice, they're an important part of the human experience. 10 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: In an extensive study of smells heritage and historic paper 11 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: published in the journal Heritage Science, the authors argue the 12 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: importance of documenting and preserving smells, but why. The researchers 13 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: realized that visitors at St. Paul's Cathedral, Dean and Chapter 14 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: Library in London frequently comment on the arome of the space, 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: saying they feel like they can smell history thanks to 16 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: our limbic system. Odors can make us pretty emotional, especially 17 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: when they evoke memories. Sense affect how we experience different 18 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: cultures and places, and help us gain more insight into 19 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: and engage more deeply with the past. The researchers posit 20 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: that smells are part of our cultural heritage and have 21 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: historical value and deserve to be identified, analyzed, and archived 22 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,040 Speaker 1: using chemical analysis and sensory descriptions. The study authors set 23 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: about figuring out a way for scientists and historians to 24 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: do so. In one experiment, the researchers asked visitors at 25 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: the historic library to characterize the odors they smelled. More 26 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: than seventy percent of respondents considered the library smell as pleasant. 27 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: All of the visitors thought it smelled woody, while noticed 28 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: a smokey aroma. Sevent reported an earthy scent, and forty 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: one percent said they smelled vanilla. Other less frequent responses 30 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: ranged from musty, too pungent, and floral to in sid 31 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: In another experiment, the study authors analyzed the responses of 32 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: seventy nine visitors to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery 33 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: UK to the smell of a historic book from a 34 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: second hand bookstore. To capture the book smell, a piece 35 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: of sterile gauze was soaked in five milli leaders of 36 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: an extract of the book odor and placed in an 37 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: unlabeled metal canister screwed shut to prevent visitors from peaking 38 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: the top three responses when the visitors were prompted to 39 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: describe the smell chocolate, coffee, and old. The team then 40 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: analyzed the volatile organic compounds in the book and the library. 41 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: Most odors are composed of these v o c s, 42 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: which are chemicals that evaporate at low temperatures. VOCs are 43 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: often associated with certain smell types, for example, acetic acid 44 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: smells sour, isoamal acetate smells like bananas. Using the data 45 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: from the chemical analysis and visitors smell descriptions, the researchers 46 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: created the Historic Book Odor Wheel to document an archive 47 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: the Historic library. Smell main categories such as sweet or 48 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: spicy fill the inner circle of the wheel. Descriptors such 49 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: as caramel or biscuits fill the middle, and the chemical 50 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: compounds likely to be the smelly source, like for ferral, 51 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: fill the outer circle. The researchers want the Book Odor 52 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: Wheel to be an interdisciplinary tool that untrained noses can 53 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: use to identify smells and the compounds causing them, which 54 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: could address conservators concerns about material composition and degradation inform 55 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: artifact paper conservation decisions, and benefit ole factory museum experiences. 56 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article researchers create odor 57 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: wheel that breaks down the smell of old books on 58 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: how stuffworks dot com, written by Shelley Danzy. Bring Stuff's 59 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: production by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works 60 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clay. Four more 61 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 62 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.