Scent dictionary · Scent families
Household objects
Đồ vật
The smells of things people make: paper, ink, plastic, paint, rubber, soap. They do not occur in nature but are everywhere in daily life, and many of them are more familiar than the smell of flowers. They are also the group that changes fastest from one era to the next.
13 entries · 4 linked compounds
lighter than essential oils
Dimethyl sulfide · 37 °C
Acetic acid · 118 °C
Furfural · 162 °C
Vanillin · 285 °C
< 150 °CTop
Middle
290 °CBase
4 linked compounds, from 3 of the family’s 13 entries. This is what we have been able to trace so far, not the whole chemistry of the family — entries whose chemistry is still blank will fill in the picture over time. Left of the dashed line are compounds lighter than any essential-oil component — they are gone before the main axis begins.
Every entry
- Adhesive tape · Băng dínhPull off a strip of clear tape and smell the adhesive side at once
- Bar soap · Xà phòngSmell a dry, unused bar of soap
- Bleach · Nước tẩyOpen a bottle of Javel bleach and smell from a hand’s span away
- Fabric softener · Nước xả vảiSmell a shirt just dried after a wash with fabric softener
- Fresh paint · Sơn mớiWalk into a room painted earlier the same day
- Laser printer · Mực inStand beside a laser printer as it prints and smell the sheet that has just come out
- New banknote · Tiền mớiSmell a polymer banknote just taken from a cash machine
- New book · Sách mớiOpen a book just out of its shrink-wrap and smell the spine
- New car · Xe mớiSit in a brand-new car, close the doors and breathe deeply
- New plastic · Nhựa mớiPeel the film off a newly bought plastic item and smell the surface
- New rubber · Cao su mớiSmell a new tyre or a pair of just-bought rubber sandals
- Old book · Sách cũOpen a book printed before 1990, press your nose into the middle of the pages and breathe in
- Permanent marker · Bút lông dầuTake the cap off a permanent marker and smell the tip