Latest / Dirt Nap City - History's Most Interesting Dead People / Scratch and Sniff - What The Past Smells Like

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Scratch and Sniff - What The Past Smells Like · Dirt Nap City - History's Most Interesting Dead People

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Alex, you know what time it is?
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: I hope it's time for a dead end.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_02: I could use it.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: It is.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: I see the sign just ahead.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: And you know what I like to do when I see that sign?
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: I would just keep driving.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's a dead end is a better sign than no outlet.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm seeing too many no outlet signs these days.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Is dead end not is not that not politically correct to say dead end anymore?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: Why do we see so many no outlet signs?
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's the uh no outlet lobby.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: They're really they're really lobbying for that as a phrase.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: No, I I mean dead end just kind of like in encompasses not only the fact that you can't get back, but that it once existed, right?
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's about a celebration of the once existed.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think a non-driver would even know what no outlet means.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Now even a driver, even a driver, you'd have to explain the first time you see one.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what everyone knows what dead end means.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: Dead end, yeah.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's uh it's it's a lot more a lot more literal and visceral and and uh primitive, you know?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: And it makes me not want to go there.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: But it makes me want to just drive right through that sign and just keep on going.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: Thelma and Louise style.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: I got a question for you.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever uh read the book uh The Little Bunny Follows His Nose?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: No?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: No?
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: 1971 classic?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: Like you seems like something I would like.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: Your mom didn't read it to you or the little bunny?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: Well, there was something kind of unique about this book, The Little Bunny Follows His Nose.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, little bunny kind of goes out on a little adventure, goes out out of the house or his little bunny house into the garden.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: And what's that?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, strawberries.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: And then he goes over.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: What's that?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: Carrots.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, there's a rose.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, dog poop.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: Ugh.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: The Little Bunny Follows His Nose was the very first scratch and sniff book.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, now I did mess with some scratch and sniff books back in the day.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they had the books, they had the stickers, and I mean, what did you think about scratch and sniff in 1971?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: I have a scratch and sniff book not 15 feet from you right now.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: You have kind of everything not 15 feet from you.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: You have no idea what how right you are about that.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um in our Christmas stuff, which is in a closet in the next room, yeah.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: I have a Christmas scratch and sniff that still scratches and sniffs.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: What are some smells of a Christmas?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's a nice apple pie one.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay there's one that smells like a Christmas tree.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a green thing.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um that you and it still smells uh every year.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: I there's one that smells like hot chocolate.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's one that um smells like I think there's a candy cane one.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: I love that book, man.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think is the most accurate of those?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like, like uh, what which one smells the most real?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: The hot chocolate one gives me all the feels.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: They're all the really accurate.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, but the hot chocolate one's my favorite.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's more accurate than if I break open a packet of Swissmas and dip my nose in it.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's really when when was that book made?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think probably probably early 70s?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: Not 80s, come on, man.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: Today we're talking about scratch and sniff.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: We're talking about the books, the stickers, the everything else that went with it.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um absolutely here for that.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: So do you know how it works?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: No, but I would love to know.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Scratch and Sniff was originally invented by a guy named Wilhelm Hermann or Harman, H-A-A-R-M-A-N.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: Wilhelm.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: And that was this was like in the early 1900s.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: He yeah, yeah, he was trying to add essential oils to add fragrance to paper.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: So he was trying to come up with paper that lovers could use to send to each other and the paper would be scented.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: So he Because people would like spray perfume on paper.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, but he wanted something a little more rugged and something that maybe didn't smell as it was going through the post, but was activated by touch.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: So as you read it, you would you would start to smell it.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: Well, this idea didn't really take off.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: You know, he was um he was kind of ahead of his time, but then a guy named Gail Mattson, and you know, back in the day there were a lot of guys named Gail.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm not I'm not I'm not hating on that name.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of guys named Gene.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of guys named Kelly back in the day.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I was gonna say.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: So Gail Matson worked for this company called 3M.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever heard of them?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: Of course.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know what it stands for?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_02: I actually I actually I don't I don't think I'm Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: They were they were a technology company.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, it's their headquarters, min Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but they kind of got to be known for chemicals and uh glues and papers and you know, like um what are the command strips, right?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: Posted notes.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, in 1970s, um Gail Matson was uh looking for a way to uh incorporate some more of their sticky technology uh on stickers, do something innovative.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: And he came across the work of Wilhelm Hermann, Harman, and he was intrigued.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: So he started playing with this and he came up with this thing that is actually not specific to scratch and sniff, but it was perfect for it.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's called micro encapsulation.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's kind of like when you ride in the trunk of a car to go to a go to a uh drive-in.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: Micro encapsulation.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it kind of is.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: So what micro encapsulation would do is it would use a chemical process to take some sort of a sort of sticky agent that would harden, but this agent was also fragile and it would have these little tiny bubbles in it, and you would mix in smells.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: So you would mix in the scent of say hot chocolate or a Christmas tree or the little bunnies uh unfortunate encounter with dog poop.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: Whatever.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: You'd mix the smell in, and it would form these little tiny bubbles that when scratched would break and they would release the scent.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: And this those smells would come from oils.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, from essential oils.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, actually, yes.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you can actually DIY scratch and sniffs today, and you know what they recommend as the number one source for the smells if you DIY it?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: What's that?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: Jell O packets.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: Powdered, powdered jello.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because you can do they're already they already smell like whatever.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_02: They already smell like uh, and they're the right, they're the right size, the powder.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: So but yes, essential oils were were the fragrances that were used by both Wilhelm back in the early 20th century as well as Gail in the 70s, and this thing kind of took off.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_02: The little bunny that follows his nose was a big hit in 1971.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: You can still buy it on Amazon today, affiliate link below.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and people were kind of going crazy for this um technology, not only in books, but also on stickers.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: And you can still buy scratch and sniff stickers today.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's not out of bounds, like it they still exist, they're just not as popular as they were.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder why.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: So one thing a phone can't do is emit smells.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, not on command.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Can it emit noises that sound like smells?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's one thing that your phone really can't do.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: This was technology you say that your book still works, the one that's like 15 feet away from you and is 30 or 40 years old.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: 50 years old.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: But the the I I guess it depended on two things, but usually they would last about six months.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: That was kind of the lifespan of these, and maybe I'm thinking more of the stickers than the um than the books, because a book, I guess a book is closed and those micro uh uh capsules are probably protected.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I haven't scratched every part of that strip.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: So the strip is probably the strip, you can see the parts that I've scratched, right?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: The strip is probably about three or four inches long, about an inch or inch and a half uh tall.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And you can see the parts I've scratched, and I have tiny thumbs.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: So when I scratch it, yeah, I can see the parts that I haven't scratched it.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Those parts haven't been activated in fairly.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's a very fine little line.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: But but yeah, so maybe maybe if you had if you were a more active user of that book, it might have only lasted six months.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: But you've been very careful using your tiny thumbs to just scratch specific parts.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um kind of like a little uh a little scratch and sniff gnome.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: In the garden.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so in addition, you kind of mentioned about the phone not being able to do this.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: Well, actually, now this is not exactly scratch and sniff, but this is kind of tangential to it.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: There was a thing that came out in the late 70s called Smell OVision.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: I was just gonna ask you if you remember Smell Ovision.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: Now you had a card and it would have a number on it, right?
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, no.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, okay.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: So hold on, you're jumping ahead a little bit.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: This was the that was the 80s.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: That was the upgraded version.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: Smell ovision actually had um little little tanks of um what is it called?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: Uh uh uh aerosol, you know, they were it was aerosol tanks, and this um the the smells were aerosol in aerosol tanks, and they would come out at the right moment.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: So if you were watching a movie with a horse, you might get the smell of a horse.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: Come out of what?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: You buy a console?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, no.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm talking about in the theater.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_02: Uh in the theater, they set these little con they set up these little uh aerosol tanks to blow out smells during certain parts of the movie.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: So it sounds like television, but it was actually in the movies.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: It was in the movies, yeah.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: Smell OVISion.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_02: Smell Ovision.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: So you could see a movie now showing in Smell OVision.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I don't know if that would have worked at the drive-in because you were in your car, you'd have to have your window down, or maybe you'd have a little aerosol.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: RCA would have to come up with a different device.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: But but the problem was these aerosol tanks that would blow it out.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_02: In order to blow enough out for the entire audience to smell it, they had to go for like you know 30 seconds, and it was very loud.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: It sounded like uh, you know, wind tunnel, and they basically thought the hissing noise was distracting, and people complained.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, that smell would then mask the next smell.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: You wouldn't be able to clear it out in time, probably.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you had to be you had to be um uh strategic with how often you did it, right?
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: I mean you couldn't do it, you couldn't constantly be doing it.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: You had to let one go away.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's were there any famous movies that had this technology?
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um so the original Smellavision was introduced in 1939 at the World's Fair.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: So that might have been uh a little bit predating this.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um Scent of Mystery, that was one.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: See, that just sounds so gimmicky.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's the whole reason to have the movie.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: It was it was kind of like when you do a 3D movie and you all you do is like 3D gags throughout the whole thing.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: Scent of mystery.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um there was uh one called Digital Lollipop.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not a fan of the 3D, by the way.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, never have been.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: Well, so a a good friend of ours is a big fan of a certain uh very crass director, John Waters.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_02: John Waters, do you remember 1981 came out with a movie in Smellovision?
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right, and you get that's the one where you get the card.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and the number would come up on the screen and you'd scratch and scratch and smell.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, but they were never good smells.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: It was polyester, yes, it was polyester with Divine, if you remember Divine.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, that was that was not one.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: I think you can actually on eBay still buy um the cards that were used for the for the film polyester.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: If you watch, if you like um if you stream that movie, do the numbers still come up?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's a good question.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's a that might be a good suck to get the card and then you find you can't find a copy of the movie that has the numbers.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: So I never did that experience, but I feel like you would hope there'd you hope there'd be like a little picture or something that tells you No, it was a surprise.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_02: It was just a number and you didn't know what it was.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like now scratch number two.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure I did this.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think I did this.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know what number two was.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think I did this at the Dobie Theater in Austin.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I think what would happen, if I remember this right, a scene would start and you would scratch it, and then Divine would be like, oh, what's that smell?
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: But it would be you would be ahead of Divine on that.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like you would have smelled it before she did.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so it was never obvious what you were about to smell.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was always a surprise, I think.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so they didn't wait till the scene developed.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: It was it was uh before kind of before the scene.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, most of the smells were disgusting.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think the first couple were nice.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: And and he'd come on, John Waters came on at the beginning of the film and said, You were proud to present this movie, and I think they called it Smellovision too.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: They called it Odorama.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Odorama, yeah.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, they called it Odorama.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: And and then of course uh went off the rails.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: Copyright, you know, copyright issues with Smellovision.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there was some competing discussion.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: They were competing.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it was it was like American Bandstand and uh and Soul Train.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Odorama.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Man, good times.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well that's uh that's scratch and sniff.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: Like I said, you can still you you can actually Google DIY scratch and sniff and find what printer you need.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: Basically, what I saw was that as long as your printer can print on cardstock, you're good.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_02: And then um you just need some powdered jello uh to mix in for the smells.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I guess if you want to get creative and powder other stuff, but whatever it is, it needs to be a fine powder.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: Listen to me.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: If you're out there and you're writing children's books, there is no reason that this technology needs to die.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Let's bring it back.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Kids today would love that.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: I just heard about Trevor Noah wrote a children's book called like Into the Garden or Into the Backyard or something like that, which sounds a lot like the little bunny follows his nose.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Is it scratch and sniff?
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: No, Trevor, come on, man.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, fellow podcast.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: I thought you were innovative.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: What's up with that?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I hope everyone uh enjoyed this little trip down memory lane about scratch and sniff uh technology.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: And and let's, you know, it still exists, but I think it's barely hanging on.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's bring it back, Kelly.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: I I think this is one of those rare instances where actually it should come back because you know what you said earlier, the phone can't do that.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think when when you come up to something that the phone can't do, you gotta grab onto that.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we should come up with a scratch and sniff book in tribute of all the different episodes that we've done.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um and it smells like something from the episode, like like Tesla would smell like pigeon, or um uh Henry VIII would smell like a big big um turkey leg.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and Mr.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Rogers would smell like his gym shoes.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Open the book, feel the paper.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Reality dissolves in a vapor, sense of childhood coming alive.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's time my mind and memories drive.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Every step story to tell.
• 16:45
  unknown: Fruity built in the land, scratch this step on the end.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Every step, story to tell.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Fruity built in the land, scratch this on the head, scratch this, fine step, scratch the face, on the steps, touch it my head, perfect with that, scratch a step, scratch a day, scratch the toys, put the face on the toys, top and dust, bubble, spot and spell some plastic squares, capitals don't be on competit, simple choice and subtle skills, scratch and step to cure the ill.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Scratch and stuff, find a step, scratch, put it on a step, stuck in my head like a perfect list, scratch in a scratch and a step.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: Start the base, catch and does, open stages, find the doors, my two and dust, bubble guns, guys, done a box.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Still wait, scratch the door, open stages, find the door, spot twice, stop the little and dust, bubble guns, guys, start box.