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A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

That Old-Book Smell (Rebroadcast) - 29 December 2014

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

A Way with Words

Language Learning, Society & Culture, Education

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2014

⏱️ 53 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You walk into a used bookstore, or pull down an old volume at the library, and there it is: The smell of old books. If you detect notes of vanilla in that intoxicating scent, there’s a reason. Also, why some people think the word awesome is overused, why Comic Sans is a font almost universally reviled, and the origin of the phrase “around Robin Hood’s barn.” Plus, chuck it vs. chunk it, sharing out, the dummy it, intellectual jokes, and the answers some parents give when a kid asks one too many questions. As in, “Daddy, what’s that?” “Why, it’s a wiggly-woggler for grinding smoke!” Read full show notes, hear hundreds of free episodes, send your thoughts and questions, and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org/contact. Be a part of the show: call 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; worldwide, call or text/SMS +1 (619) 800-4443. Email words@waywordradio.org. Twitter @wayword. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:17.0

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0:23.4

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0:26.2

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0:27.8

tease and sees apply Samsung.com pricing shown

0:30.6

here listening to away with words the show about language and how we use it.

0:33.4

I'm Grant Barrett.

0:34.4

And I'm Martha Barnett.

0:35.9

The smell of old books.

0:38.1

You walk into a used bookstore, you pull down a volume at the library, you know this smell

0:42.4

right? Grant, it hits you you you know exactly what I'm

0:44.6

one smell yeah how would you describe it? Oh childhood libraries memory

0:50.6

right pleasure all those things.

0:53.2

It all comes from that smell.

0:54.5

Did you know that researchers in London have analyzed that smell and they've come up with a description

0:59.7

of it.

1:00.5

They describe it as a combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla

1:06.7

over an underlying mustiness. Oh really? Yeah. I thought maybe it was insect poo. I didn't want to find out more really. This sort of sounds like a fine wine, right?

1:16.0

Yeah. Well, and they explained that the smell is actually the result of volatile organic compounds that are released into the air from the paper when you open up a book.

1:25.0

And the reason that you get that vanilla in part is because of the compound Lingen,

...

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