WEBVTT - iSmell

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. Shorties. There's Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>there's Jerry. I'm Josh. We're all feeling kind of short.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is short stuff. I'm feeling a tall are

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<v Speaker 1>you sure? Why not? I always feel like I'm six three?

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<v Speaker 1>How tall are you? Oh? I used to be five ten.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I'm like five nine and a half. Oh wait,

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<v Speaker 1>I just realized this is a short stuff. We have

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<v Speaker 1>no time for this, shure we do so. By the way,

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<v Speaker 1>everyone these uh, I know that when we started releasing these,

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<v Speaker 1>they were in the regular stuff you should know feed

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<v Speaker 1>on Wednesdays, and then also in a standalone, uh short

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<v Speaker 1>ease feed, and I think we just weren't quite sure

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<v Speaker 1>how to handle that. And now we're just gonna stop

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<v Speaker 1>that other one and just let them live here in

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<v Speaker 1>the main feed, right where they've been all along. But

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<v Speaker 1>we're gonna send our old little standalone friend out to

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<v Speaker 1>pasture and shoot it right. All of which means to

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<v Speaker 1>say is, if you are only sub scribed weirdly to

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<v Speaker 1>that one thing and not the regular feed, just come

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<v Speaker 1>on over and join us on the regular feed. We're

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<v Speaker 1>bringing them home, baby, all right. So here's our dirty secret.

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<v Speaker 1>As we we talked about this one time in a

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<v Speaker 1>single live event that no one listening saw. That's exactly right,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was such an interesting little piece of internet

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<v Speaker 1>tidbit lower. Yeah, it's so perfect for this it just

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<v Speaker 1>cannot be left alone. So yeah, we we decided we

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<v Speaker 1>were going to talk about the I smell Little I,

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<v Speaker 1>Big smell. That was their slogan. That was so Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it is like a little lie because it was tied

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<v Speaker 1>into that whole like Apple push of the late nineties

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<v Speaker 1>early two thousands, when Apple was riding high and untouchable. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess they didn't. You can't trademark something like that, right,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess not because of a little I, because every

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<v Speaker 1>everyone or not everyone, But it seems like it's been

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<v Speaker 1>co opted since then. Sure there's like I Home does

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<v Speaker 1>all their like accessories, and yeah, clearly companies that are

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<v Speaker 1>not getting any kind of approval from Apple has that

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<v Speaker 1>whole eye thing going on. Yeah, so the I smell

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<v Speaker 1>just very simply was a little I guess you would

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<v Speaker 1>call it a peripheral, a little device that you would

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<v Speaker 1>put on your desk, plug into your computer via USB,

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<v Speaker 1>and then when you're browsing the Internet, depending on what

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<v Speaker 1>kind of website you would come across, it would squirt

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<v Speaker 1>out a cent that matched what you're looking at. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>not I not squirt, maybe more like waft. Oh. It

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<v Speaker 1>was probably like a like what do you call those

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<v Speaker 1>the little perfume atomizer? Yeah, yeah, yeah, not like one

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<v Speaker 1>of those those trick flowers that like they didn't like

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<v Speaker 1>squirt some oil onto your face that wouldn't come off

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<v Speaker 1>or any You're like, oh, why did I visit Nappa

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<v Speaker 1>autoparts dot com? Right right? Glube. So the problem with

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<v Speaker 1>it was not what it was or what it did,

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<v Speaker 1>because if you stop and think about it, that's that's

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<v Speaker 1>pretty awesome, or how it worked. Right, we'll get into

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<v Speaker 1>like the nuts and bolt of it. But it was

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<v Speaker 1>a revolutionary device, amazing. It's some people say that it

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<v Speaker 1>was simply ahead of its time, and then it was

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<v Speaker 1>still simply ahead of its time. Other people say that

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<v Speaker 1>just from the get go it was ill like the

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<v Speaker 1>definition of ill conceived. Yeah, so shall we go back

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<v Speaker 1>to the es, Yes, that the dot com bubble was

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<v Speaker 1>riding high grunges in in decline. Yeah, it was. If

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<v Speaker 1>it's like kind of mid nineties, what was coming out

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<v Speaker 1>at what came after grunge. Eminem. Oh, I don't even

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<v Speaker 1>know what that is. You know who Eminem is? I

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<v Speaker 1>have no idea. Okay, well I was, well it's spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out you see E M, I N E m oh

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<v Speaker 1>Eminem the the guy, the rapper guy. That's right. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought that was like M and M was some

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<v Speaker 1>sort of style of music that I just didn't know.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh no, no, no, you know I'm talking like eminem.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, So the dot coms are in full effect,

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<v Speaker 1>and if everyone remembers that time, there was just a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of money being thrown around all over the place

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<v Speaker 1>where any great new Internet related idea for sure. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think these guys a pair of dudes named Joel

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<v Speaker 1>Bellensen and Dexter Smith who went on to form um

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<v Speaker 1>What was the name of their company. I think it

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<v Speaker 1>was digit Sense, digit Sense, that's right, Okay. They they

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<v Speaker 1>formed digit Sense with twenty million dollars god in um

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<v Speaker 1>venture capital. And there's this really great everybody go read

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<v Speaker 1>this article. It's a Wired article from and it it

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<v Speaker 1>just does a profile of them in their company, and

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<v Speaker 1>they have like this venture capitalist dude who's like the

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<v Speaker 1>prototype for the Silicon Valley VC guy. It was like

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<v Speaker 1>he's the guy, he's the archetype. It's amazing just to

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<v Speaker 1>see him appear and be like this, this is the

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<v Speaker 1>first guy. He's like patient zero, the original hoodie where

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<v Speaker 1>exactly amazing. So these guys UM they got together and

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<v Speaker 1>they formed this company called Digitsance, and apparently it was

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<v Speaker 1>based on a couple of things they had already they

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<v Speaker 1>were they were pretty well off UM having written some

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<v Speaker 1>software for genetics databases. Yeah, and this is the nineties, right,

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<v Speaker 1>so these guys were one of the few, if not

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<v Speaker 1>the first, to do this, so they were set. But

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<v Speaker 1>that experience had also kind of given them a um

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<v Speaker 1>an awareness of genetics and um digitization, and they realized,

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<v Speaker 1>like you can you can code something as as organic

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<v Speaker 1>as DNA. And they had that little little bit in

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<v Speaker 1>their pipe that they were smoking when they were down

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<v Speaker 1>on Miami Beach one day on vacation together and they

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<v Speaker 1>started smelling perfumes everywhere, as the legend goes, Yes, so

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<v Speaker 1>the story goes, they smelled many different perfume e since

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<v Speaker 1>in the air and said, I've got a great idea.

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<v Speaker 1>I know how we can lose twenty million dollars of

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<v Speaker 1>someone else's money. Digital scenting, which is why they called

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<v Speaker 1>their their company dig Sense. Uh. And like you said,

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<v Speaker 1>because they already had this sort of genetic h digitizing

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<v Speaker 1>things relating to genetics down pat they they I don't think,

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<v Speaker 1>had too hard of a time transferring that to the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that, uh, we talked about this on our own

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<v Speaker 1>on longer stuff you should know is that specific odorant

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<v Speaker 1>molecules fit together perfectly with specific proteins attached to olfactory receptors.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, go listen to our episode on smell

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<v Speaker 1>precisely right, So you it wasn't the I guess it

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<v Speaker 1>would have been the smell one. Yeah. It was either

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<v Speaker 1>that or the China's Yes, them probably. So these guys

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<v Speaker 1>knew that going into this, or they went and I

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<v Speaker 1>think did the research, but they're like, oh, we can

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<v Speaker 1>we can work with that. We can take this and

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<v Speaker 1>turn it into a digital representation, a digital model of

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<v Speaker 1>an odorant. And not only can we do it once,

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<v Speaker 1>we can do it thousands of times. So the first

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<v Speaker 1>step these guys took was to create, from what I understand,

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<v Speaker 1>the world's first database of digitized sense. That you could

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<v Speaker 1>go into this database and be like, Okay, here's the

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<v Speaker 1>code for gardenia, and you it's this odorant and that

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<v Speaker 1>odorant and you put it together. And if you can

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<v Speaker 1>basically print out an actual odorant and put them together

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<v Speaker 1>into your brain, you will smell guardenia. Even though this

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<v Speaker 1>is not from Earth or nature. It's totally digitized. And

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<v Speaker 1>that alone, Chuck is like, hats off to these cats

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<v Speaker 1>for doing that. But that was step one towards um

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<v Speaker 1>digit sense. I smell release. That's right, and we're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>take a quick break and come back with the master stroke.

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<v Speaker 1>That was step two right after this. All right, so

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<v Speaker 1>we're back. The brilliant master stroke that I teased really

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<v Speaker 1>was brilliant. And all this was the fact that they

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<v Speaker 1>could do the digitizing of scent alone was great. But

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<v Speaker 1>they sort of learned just like color combinations, uh, in

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<v Speaker 1>order to pump out any smell you wanted to someone

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<v Speaker 1>sitting in their cubicle via the Internet, they didn't have

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<v Speaker 1>to come up with millions of different smells. They could

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<v Speaker 1>lean on those one d and twenty eight primary odorans

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<v Speaker 1>and combined him in whatever way they saw fit to

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<v Speaker 1>make specific odorance like billions and billions of different sense

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<v Speaker 1>just from those hundred and twenty eight primary odorance. It

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<v Speaker 1>is really smart. It was, because up to that point,

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<v Speaker 1>it's like, Okay, this is a good idea, but how

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<v Speaker 1>can you get billions of different scents into a little

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<v Speaker 1>desktop peripheral You can't. So the ability to break it

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<v Speaker 1>down into just a palette of eight. Now, all of

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<v Speaker 1>a sudden, the I smell is starting to become an

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<v Speaker 1>actual reality. And from what I remember, they um the

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<v Speaker 1>I smell itself was actually kind of cool looking. If

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<v Speaker 1>you ask me, it looks like an apple um alien

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<v Speaker 1>wind sale or something like that solar sale. But the UM,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it the tray heated up the specific odor

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<v Speaker 1>and then a fan blew across it, and not only

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<v Speaker 1>would it heat up one odorant, it would heat up

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<v Speaker 1>you know, different combinations to different degrees, and the wind

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<v Speaker 1>that or the fan would blow across it, and then

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<v Speaker 1>that's what would waft out of the I smell. That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>So you load a web page with pixels that have

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<v Speaker 1>those scent instructions. You're on a web page for a

0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:12.320
<v Speaker 1>landscaping service, and they decided it's a great idea to

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<v Speaker 1>give you the scent of fresh cut grass as you

0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.560
<v Speaker 1>visit their website or if you're at a travel agent site.

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<v Speaker 1>Because this is back then when people still use travel agents,

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<v Speaker 1>they would squirt out maybe some coconut and suntan lotion,

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<v Speaker 1>but not squirt waft. And basically the idea was to

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<v Speaker 1>enrich your Internet experience. Uh cost about two bucks. I

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<v Speaker 1>think the cartridges were about fifty but they last months

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<v Speaker 1>and months sure, which is you know, that's not a

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<v Speaker 1>terrible price for something, not at all? Uh. And it

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<v Speaker 1>worked great. They tested it. It worked fine. What they

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<v Speaker 1>didn't do was consumer testing, That is, does anyone want

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<v Speaker 1>to smell the Internet? No? That was these guys did

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<v Speaker 1>so much R and D and so much um. They

0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.960
<v Speaker 1>were so heads down on the ice all that The

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<v Speaker 1>fatal flaw of the whole thing was they didn't stop

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<v Speaker 1>to ask themselves do people want this? They just presumed, yes,

0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.760
<v Speaker 1>this thing is so awesome, it's so revolutionary, and there's

0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:14.120
<v Speaker 1>so much development put into it. Of course, everybody's gonna

0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:16.839
<v Speaker 1>watch the price tags, right, it doesn't slow down your

0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.120
<v Speaker 1>web page. The pixels that they created with the sent

0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:23.760
<v Speaker 1>information were so efficient. It took up I think two

0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.680
<v Speaker 1>bytes of space, which is like a se of Google's

0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:32.240
<v Speaker 1>tracking pixel. Everything about it it was perfect, but no

0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.600
<v Speaker 1>one wanted it. It's it was just as plain as

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<v Speaker 1>day except for me. I've always wanted one of these. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>They actually debuted at the two thousand one uh C

0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.679
<v Speaker 1>e S Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, which is where

0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:47.320
<v Speaker 1>all the big products make their splash. Um. Nobody liked it.

0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:51.240
<v Speaker 1>Everyone hated it. They never sold a single one, and

0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:57.880
<v Speaker 1>twenty million dollars in VC funds went down. The scented drain. Yep,

0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:00.200
<v Speaker 1>there was There was at least one prototype, and you

0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.640
<v Speaker 1>can see pictures of it on the internet, but as

0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.280
<v Speaker 1>far as anyone knows, that was it. They never built one.

0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:08.360
<v Speaker 1>They certainly never sold one. Pretty amazing. And then in

0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:13.760
<v Speaker 1>two thousand six, PC World said this is this can't

0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:17.200
<v Speaker 1>be forgotten, and they released their list of the twenty

0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:19.800
<v Speaker 1>five worse tech products of all time. And believe me,

0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:22.600
<v Speaker 1>there's been a lot of worse tech products, but the

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<v Speaker 1>I Smell was included on that list and was honored forever. Amazing. Yep,

0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:32.920
<v Speaker 1>the I Smell. All right, Well that's it. Yeah, if

0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:34.600
<v Speaker 1>you want to get in touch with us, you can

0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:36.960
<v Speaker 1>go to our website stuff you should Know dot com

0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.160
<v Speaker 1>and check out all of our social links. There you

0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.160
<v Speaker 1>can also send us in Jerry and email to Stuff

0:12:42.200 --> 0:13:00.280
<v Speaker 1>podcasts at how stuff works dot com from