this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] beckerist 40 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I was looking for information on how it smells and I'm only finding pages that say it smells terrible. Even the Wikipedia only mentions "Due to its diminished vapor pressure, its odor, while unpleasant, is less objectionable than related thiols"

I'm still curious what it smells like though...

[–] [email protected] 45 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Rotten fish/eggs, skunky, very strong, and it lingers. Even the smallest amount will clear a room.

Found this.

And this.

[–] beckerist 24 points 7 months ago

I'd seen that first link already but the second link got it, thank you! For those that don't want to click:

beta-Mercaptoethanol: rather similar to ethanethiol, but the extra OH group gives it some real staying power. Sort of the "sun and sport" version of the parent compound.

and

Ethanethiol: the prototype of the class. All the basic sulfur-stink notes - skunky and intestinal. Very volatile, too, which really gives it a quick wallop, but at least it doesn't stay around forever.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Can confirm. I use it under the chemical hood with gloves on, and even if I use just a few microliters I can still smell it on my fingers hours later

[–] [email protected] 33 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I wish I still worked in a lab, i would totally put this up! It definitely permeates everything and you can tell when someone’s used it!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago

"Oh you 'did everything in the hood' huh? My ol' factory begs to differ!"

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)

In grad school, someone in one of the bio labs dropped a bottle and cleared out the whole building. It was so gross!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Damn that’s brutal!!!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Something smells like an outhouse got sprayed by a skunk