WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Do Researchers Preserve Smells?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bam here with a classic

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<v Speaker 1>episode from our previous host, Christian Sager. We here generally

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<v Speaker 1>approve of the cataloging and preservation of things, from films

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<v Speaker 1>to recipes, to paintings, to traditional craft methods to bones,

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<v Speaker 1>but some things are more ephemeral than others. Today's question

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<v Speaker 1>is how might researchers go about preserving smells? Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Sagar, pardon me, fragrances your book wearing researchers

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<v Speaker 1>at University College London suggests that the nose knows get it.

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<v Speaker 1>In an extensive study of smells, heritage and historic paper

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<v Speaker 1>published in the journal Heritage Science, the authors argue the

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<v Speaker 1>importance of documenting and preserving smells, but why. The researchers

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<v Speaker 1>realized that visitors at St. Paul's Cathedral, Dean and Chapter

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<v Speaker 1>Library in London frequently comment on the aroma of the space,

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<v Speaker 1>saying they feel like they can smell history now thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to our limbic system. Odors can make us pretty emotional,

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<v Speaker 1>especially when they evoke memories. Sense affect how we experience

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<v Speaker 1>different cultures and places and help us gain more insight

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<v Speaker 1>into and engage more deeply with the past. Since smells

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<v Speaker 1>are a part of our cultural heritage, the researchers posit

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<v Speaker 1>they have historical value and deserve to be identified, analyzed,

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<v Speaker 1>and archived using chemical analysis and sensory descriptions. The study

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<v Speaker 1>authors set about figuring out a way for scientists and

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<v Speaker 1>historians to do so. In one experiment, the researchers asked

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<v Speaker 1>visitors at the historic library to characterize the odors they smelled.

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<v Speaker 1>More than seventy percent of respondents considered the library smell

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<v Speaker 1>as pleasant. All the visitors thought it smelled woody, while

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<v Speaker 1>eighty six percent noticed a smokey aroma. Earthy was seventy

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<v Speaker 1>one and vanilla at fort were also descriptors visitors chose often.

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<v Speaker 1>Other responses ranged from musty to pungent and floral to

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<v Speaker 1>rancid mmmm. In another experiment, the study authors analyzed the

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<v Speaker 1>responses of seventy nine visitors to the Birmingham Museum and

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<v Speaker 1>Art Gallery in the United Kingdom to the smell of

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<v Speaker 1>a historic book from a second hand bookstore. To capture

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<v Speaker 1>the book smell, a piece of sterile gauze was soaked

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<v Speaker 1>in five milli leaders or point one seven ounces of

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<v Speaker 1>an extract of the book Odor and placed in an

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<v Speaker 1>unlabeled metal canister Scrooge shut to prevent visitors from peaking

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<v Speaker 1>the top three responses when the visitors were prompted to

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<v Speaker 1>describe the smell chocolate, coffee, and old. The team even

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<v Speaker 1>analyzed the volatile organic compounds also known as v o

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<v Speaker 1>c s in the book and in the library. Most

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<v Speaker 1>odors are composed of v o c s, or chemicals

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<v Speaker 1>that evaporate at low temperatures. V o c s are

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<v Speaker 1>often associated with certain smell types, like ascetic acid with sour,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance. Using the data from the chemical analysis and

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<v Speaker 1>visitors smell descriptions, the researchers created the Historic Book Odor

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<v Speaker 1>Wheel to document an archive the Historic Library. Smell main

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<v Speaker 1>categories such as sweet or spicy fill the inner circle

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<v Speaker 1>of the wheel. Descriptors such as caramel or biscuits fill

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<v Speaker 1>the middle, and the chemical compounds likely to be the

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<v Speaker 1>smelly source, like for for all, fill the outer circle.

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<v Speaker 1>The researchers want the Book Odor Wheel to be an

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<v Speaker 1>interdisciplinary tool that untrained noses can use to identify smells

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<v Speaker 1>and the compounds causing them, which could address conservators concerns

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<v Speaker 1>about material composition and degradation inform artifact paper conservation decisions,

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<v Speaker 1>and benefit Ola Factory Museum experiences. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by Shelley Dancy and produced by Dylan Fagan and Tyler Klang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other ripe topics,

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<v Speaker 1>is it how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is

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