Which Chemicals Smell Deceivingly Good?

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  • Опубликовано: 17 июл 2022
  • In this video, I rank several common reagents that smell pretty good, but you probably shouldn't be smelling them! This video is a reupload.
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Комментарии • 453

  • @THYZOID
    @THYZOID 2 года назад +183

    I really love the smell of Phenol too but I know I shouldn’t smell it….. diethyl ether is kind of nice too. Even if you hate the smell it is at least a warning indicator that the lab you are working in might have an explosive ether/air mixture in it

    • @adrianhenle
      @adrianhenle 2 года назад +5

      I love the smell of ether, in small amounts. Getting a whole lungful by spilling a beaker on a hot plate is a whole other experience, though...

    • @Kirillissimus
      @Kirillissimus 2 года назад +7

      The strange thing with phenol is the more you smell it the more you like it. In low concentrations the smell gets especially warm, rich and pleasant. Combined with general toxicity and bad health effects of prolonged exposure even to the low vapour concentrations makes the magnificent compound a truely forbidden pleasure.

    • @drussell_
      @drussell_ 2 года назад +3

      I like the smell of Bakelite baking an a heated press bakeliser doodad, I think that gives off some some sort of phenol compoundy-thing, doesn't it?

    • @adrianhenle
      @adrianhenle 2 года назад +2

      @@drussell_ That and formaldehyde

    • @littleh4xx0r
      @littleh4xx0r Год назад +1

      @@Kirillissimus phenol is one of the flavor compounds in smokey scotch :3

  • @Zwelious087
    @Zwelious087 2 года назад +295

    Diethyl ether always smelled like sweettarts to me. I smelled it for the first time accidentally in my O chem lab and my legs nearly gave out. Totally worth it.

    • @VerbenaIDK
      @VerbenaIDK 2 года назад +8

      i want to smell diethyl ether for some tile now but goddamnit it's hard to make

    • @noecarrier5035
      @noecarrier5035 2 года назад +3

      The devil ether!

    • @oscarcastillero5108
      @oscarcastillero5108 2 года назад +6

      @@VerbenaIDK I may be very wrong, but I'm finishing orgo I in a week, and couldn't you just react ethyl bromide with sodium ethoxide? And if the ethyl bromide is difficult to make couldn't you make it using Br2 with Ethane and heat? (In the lab we haven't really synthesized anything. And everything is pretty much readily available so I'm not really sure as to what makes something difficult to make or not )

    • @bagggg445
      @bagggg445 2 года назад +4

      @@oscarcastillero5108 sulphuric acid and ethanol is the done method i believe

    • @blackbeast9268
      @blackbeast9268 2 года назад +2

      It's a NMDA antagonist. Just like n2o. It was used for pain relief before n2o.

  • @MeriaDuck
    @MeriaDuck Год назад +98

    A matrix with smell on one axis and toxicity on the other would be interesting. Showing a relation between toxicity and bad smell, and possibly interesting outliers. 🤔

    • @singerofsongs468
      @singerofsongs468 Год назад +2

      I could totally see this format in a future video. Cool idea!

  • @bruhmoment8658
    @bruhmoment8658 2 года назад +105

    Diethyl Ether should be S tier. Being able to go from the bright lights of the lab to complete darkness and seeing stars is always fun.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +16

      Haha

    • @pacificcoastpiper3949
      @pacificcoastpiper3949 Год назад +1

      @@That_Chemist is automotive starting fluid made from diethyl ether? I always associate the smell of it with banana for some reason

    • @dasjulian3
      @dasjulian3 Месяц назад +1

      @@pacificcoastpiper3949 Thats probably Amyl acetate. Its a common solvent and also used as a banana flavour.

  • @TagetesAlkesta
    @TagetesAlkesta 2 года назад +84

    I’m a computer/phone repair tech. A torn (but not yet blown) lithium battery smells like acetone, so I’ve come to unconsciously associate that smell with danger. I think that smell is actually diethyl carbonate, but it smells exactly like nail polish remover.

    • @zyeborm
      @zyeborm 2 года назад +16

      Heh I do robot wars, there's a lot of interesting smells in burning electronic components.

    • @TagetesAlkesta
      @TagetesAlkesta 2 года назад +15

      @@zyeborm mmm ozone 🤤

    • @tommihommi1
      @tommihommi1 2 года назад +10

      I'd be a terrible chemist, I absolutely can't stand the smell of acetone

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +19

      Cool!

    • @douro20
      @douro20 5 месяцев назад

      The solvent used is actually dimethyl carbonate (DMC). I think some people smell DMC differently from others. To me it smells nothing like acetone.

  • @jmowreader9555
    @jmowreader9555 2 года назад +89

    Gotta have limonene on this list.
    It is completely nontoxic and is used as a food flavoring agent. The hazard is its flammability. Not only is it flammable enough John D. Clark fired it as rocket fuel on a test stand in the 1950s, it's hypergolic with white fuming nitric acid. The smell - like fresh citrus - is just fantastic.
    Methyl ethyl ketone should be somewhere between A and S, It is better at making your brain look like Swiss cheese than just about anything else.

    • @monoamin_
      @monoamin_ Год назад +12

      When life gives you lemons, fly to the stars.

    • @word6344
      @word6344 Год назад +4

      Ignition boi!

    • @thor1829
      @thor1829 Год назад +6

      And the other enantiomer smells like pine trees!!

  • @sealpiercing8476
    @sealpiercing8476 2 года назад +46

    I've read so many stories about forgotten ether bottles from the ancient past with peroxide crystals audibly rattling around inside

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +15

      It’s way more common than you expect!

    • @sealpiercing8476
      @sealpiercing8476 2 года назад +7

      @@That_Chemist Seems like a normal worst case scenario that should be accounted for in chemical storage is "What happens if we forget this exists for a year or ten?" Or else you have to periodically inventory and assess literally all your storage or some such precaution

    • @HiwasseeRiver
      @HiwasseeRiver 2 года назад +10

      We had a lab guy detonated a THF can that went bad (peroxidized). No serious injuries. The guy got reassigned to Quality Control and applied his poor cognitive skills to all aspects of production.

    • @PenguinzAreAwesome
      @PenguinzAreAwesome 2 года назад

      my gen chem prof my freshman yeah had his wife die at our school (long ago) from an ether peroxide explosion. Can really be dangerous

    • @singerofsongs468
      @singerofsongs468 Год назад

      @@PenguinzAreAwesome jesus christ no way i’d still be a chemistry professor after that
      edit: to clarify, i am not a chemistry professor

  • @evildude109
    @evildude109 2 года назад +47

    At some point in inorganic lab, probably when we were learning about metal sandwiches, we had to generate cyclopentadiene from the dimer, and my professor said it was his favorite smell and kept putting his face in everyone's hoods. Crazy bastard, I love him.

  • @Odin1465
    @Odin1465 2 года назад +63

    I love the smell of TEMPO. It smells so refreshing. Whenever I smell it I wish I was in a sauna and the sauna master would put a solution of TEMPO on the hot stones.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +41

      Cursed

    • @Felixkeeg
      @Felixkeeg 2 года назад +5

      That's definitely gonna be in the next chempolation

    • @oitthegroit1297
      @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад +2

      What does it smell like? I'm especially interested, because it's a stable, persistent radical, and it's coloured red.

    • @Odin1465
      @Odin1465 2 года назад +4

      @@oitthegroit1297 it smells very fresh but it is a very distinct smell i cant really compare to anything else. it smells similarly fresh to menthol, but also very different. i cant really explain it, you have to smell it yourself to understand.

    • @oitthegroit1297
      @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад +2

      @@Odin1465 Alright, then I guess it's TEMPO-getting time!

  • @ravencrovax
    @ravencrovax 2 года назад +40

    This reminds me of the old joke of walking up to someone with a damp rag, putting it up to their nose and saying "Does this smell like chloroform to you?"

  • @PwdrdTstMn
    @PwdrdTstMn 2 года назад +36

    One that we use medically for anesthesia, the replacement for Aether, is Sevoflurane, smells like plastics, but 2 good breaths and you're half asleep without realizing it. It's a boatload of fun, solid C Tier

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +11

      Interesting - i did some work with methoxyflurane - i came across a cool one today called azisevoflurane

    • @PwdrdTstMn
      @PwdrdTstMn 2 года назад +6

      @@That_Chemist I wonder if they're good anesthesia gases with sevo. In certain cases we also use Isoflurane instead of sevo, especially in cases where we need nerve monitoring or continuous EEG in neurosurgery cases. I havent gone to anesthesia school yet so I'm not sure of the exact mechanism, but it is one of the safety checks us nurses look for in those cases before we start them in coordination with our anesthesia team. Long story short is gas is fun lol.

    • @surkey5055
      @surkey5055 Год назад

      Isoflurane smells nice but in its pure form for anesthesia it is very potent and burns quite a bit, although I can help but inhale it sometimes cause boyyy does it feel great 😆

    • @sandvich101
      @sandvich101 Год назад

      I love restocking the sevoflurane in the OR because it smells so satisfying hahaha. And there is always residual smell left even when the bottle is fully sealed again lol

  • @HypnoKnight
    @HypnoKnight 2 года назад +78

    My diethyl ether story is kinda funny.
    Was using it as a solvent for thin layer chromatography for verifying a product and walked maybe about 2-3m away from a bunsen burner while carrying a conical flask of it.
    My flask momentarily became a pillar of fire and I temporarily freaked out before it immediately went out.
    Fun times.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +30

      It is so scary when diethyl ether burns

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +32

      WOOOOMFFFFFF

    • @sawspitfire422
      @sawspitfire422 2 года назад +3

      Jesus.. I knew it was flammable but that's terrifying

  • @OneCentChemist
    @OneCentChemist 2 года назад +28

    You have thiophosgene on here, but not phosgene? That's a smell you don't forget. I get flashbacks whenever my neighbor mows the lawn.

    • @PepekBezlepek
      @PepekBezlepek 2 года назад

      when they mow the lawn? elaborate 😁

    • @OneCentChemist
      @OneCentChemist 2 года назад +4

      @@PepekBezlepek Phosgene has this musty earthy smell that is kind of like freshly mown grass or an old bale of hay.

    • @scabbarae
      @scabbarae 2 года назад +6

      Phosgene is no joke. There was actually a young youtuber named myfanwy who died after attempting (succeeding?) to make it.

    • @OneCentChemist
      @OneCentChemist 2 года назад +8

      @@scabbarae Agreed. Scariest time of my life. Nothing is scarier than an SDS sheet that reads "48 hours no symptoms followed by death." At one point I was crying in the bathtub in fear of death.

    • @punishedexistence
      @punishedexistence Год назад +3

      I've had a few whiffs of phosgene, it does certainly smell like a tall grass lawn that's been cut the day before and you're smelling it the next morning in the sun, combined with a somewhat chemical smell. I doubt it was enough to cause harm but enough to know the smell in case I ever encountered it for real.

  • @oitthegroit1297
    @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад +18

    One of my favourite "forbidden" smells is the smell of tar or burning coal. It reminds me of when my Dad and I would burn it in our forge in order to forge metal for fun. The only downside is that the neighbours probably didn't appreciate it very much because the strong tarry smell and copious amounts of thick smoke created when we first add the coals to the forge, not to mention the potentially carcinogenic products created. It's also illegal to burn it where I live, apparently.

  • @willh2739
    @willh2739 2 года назад +25

    invaluable contributions to the development of smell theory

  • @markb5249
    @markb5249 2 года назад +15

    Surprised toluene and benzene weren't on here.

    • @jmd1743
      @jmd1743 2 года назад

      Some lady had a bunch of gas cans in her house because she loved gasoline so much.

  • @RylTheValstrax
    @RylTheValstrax 2 года назад +16

    What a topical video for the day! I am getting quite the F-tier experience today with methyl methacrylate from some dirty 3D print wash propanol that spilled. Some people say it smells like fruit, others say it smells like fish. I don't think either is quite accurate, but fish is closer. It stinks though, and despite being a mild irritant, its less lethal than table salt so... I give it F-tier.

  • @shounakhinge8
    @shounakhinge8 2 года назад +19

    I used to do reactions with tbSCl once a month at around 10g scale. It smells really exciting! Also, you can actually see it evaporate/sublime (not sure) while weighing as it is really fast!

  • @lefthandedspanner
    @lefthandedspanner 2 года назад +7

    many years ago, phenol used to be used as a general disinfectant (carbolic acid) and it was the active ingredient in carbolic soap
    while it was undeniably effective, it's since been replaced by less harmful alternatives

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      It’s still used in some throat decongestants!

    • @Dovorans
      @Dovorans 2 года назад +1

      @@That_Chemist It's also an oral anesthetic, I have a bottle of cherry flavored 1.4% phenol that you spray in the back of your mouth to help with sore throats. I did a double take the first time I read the active ingredients label.

    • @oitthegroit1297
      @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад

      @@Dovorans Same! I used it when I got strep throat a while ago.

  • @jeremybeaud4077
    @jeremybeaud4077 2 года назад +5

    Kinda disappointed toluene is not in the list. God I love the smell of toluene.

  • @Elias-wu7on
    @Elias-wu7on 2 года назад +19

    I worked with cyclopentadiene recently and I hated the smell. It smells like pickles potted in gasoline imo, but in a very unpleasent way.

    • @davecurlett2227
      @davecurlett2227 Год назад

      It reminds me of extremely cheap off-brand Pine-Sol

    • @mathewperring
      @mathewperring Год назад +1

      If you want a similar but worse experience may I introduce you to the norbornene a similarly shaped molecule to the auto diels alder dicyclodeiene but oh so much worse smelling. First time I experienced it I spent 45 minutes outside feeling decidedly unwell. Got use to it after a few months.

  • @robert36902
    @robert36902 2 года назад +7

    I hear the smile in your voice when you mention some of these chemicals - it's forbidden but it still smells gooood :)
    It's maybe not chemistry, but I like the forbidden smell of soldering fumes - I think it's the rosin flux fumes that you smell?

    • @Kirillissimus
      @Kirillissimus 2 года назад

      The smell of burning rosin is also not very healthy. Do not smell it too much.

  • @Mystictiki
    @Mystictiki 2 года назад +6

    I work in a biochemistry lab and it's immediately obvious anytime someone opens up a bottle of betamercaptoethanol to use a reducing agent in buffers. Fortunately the buffers don't really smell because we only use a 5 mM concentration for practically anytime we actually need to use it. I think I'd put BME in C-tier or D-tier because it smells awful and is only mildly toxic.

  • @maxpower18
    @maxpower18 2 года назад +3

    Cyclopentadiene is the forbidden fruit. My body says no but my brain says "Yes! YES! more! sniff it baby"

    • @ninamarie177
      @ninamarie177 2 года назад

      Yes! When I had to do a Diels-Alder reaction with it I first had to do a retro-Diels-Alder to crack the dimmer and the whole lab smelled like cucumber/watermelon even though I was working under an exhaust hood.

  • @estherstreet4582
    @estherstreet4582 2 года назад +12

    I don't know if it exists in all countries but there's an antiseptic cream called germolene that has phenol as its active ingredient, and I always associate the smell of phenol with that.

    • @rkirke1
      @rkirke1 2 года назад

      Yep, phenol is used in a toothache medication in Australia, so likewise for me!

    • @Kirillissimus
      @Kirillissimus 2 года назад

      We have a liquid 60/40 mixture of phenol and cresol branded "Ferezol" (the original russian name is "Ферезол"). Similar to your cream it is also used for skin and nail treatment against fungal infections and some other issues. It damages the skin and if you do not follow the instructions the cosmetic damage may become irreversable if you exclude surgical solutions, but the thing is extremely effective. It goes in very deeply, it works very quickly and it permanently kills any nasty stuff it touches. Apart from general toxicity, as a side effect I would also mention its very addictive smell of phenol so it is important to use it very carefully and moderately.

    • @rkirke1
      @rkirke1 2 года назад

      @@Kirillissimus Yikes! The medication we have here is approved to use inside the mouth :O It's very effective for tooth pain. Mostly clove oil, only a low concentration of phenol, but I wonder how much it affects cells in the gums, esophagus and stomach? I knew phenol inactivates nerves, and that concentrated phenol can be toxic, but didn't realize it was *so* potent!
      Also yeah, the smell is a bit addictive :) Very pervasive smell (my first aid kit stinks of it), but I like the smell in small amounts. Odor wise, I kind of think of it as camphor's evil cousin :D

  • @JackFlead
    @JackFlead 2 года назад +7

    Not sure if I'm weird for this but I absolutely LOVE the smell of methanol. Smells like a mix of fruits and ethanol to me. It's my forbidden scent, it's nice to smell but it's nicer to be able to see.

  • @mgdurandolo
    @mgdurandolo Год назад +2

    Methylene chloride always smelled good to me and I used to play with the stuff as a kid because it evaporates so quickly and chills whatever it's resting on. I'm still here 30 years later so it must not be overly toxic

  • @Jared7873
    @Jared7873 2 года назад +5

    I'm not a chemist & the worst chemical accident I've suffered is spraying 10% menthol sore throat spray (sold over the counter) on my eyes.

  • @sweetshiba_
    @sweetshiba_ 2 года назад +12

    needed benzoyl chloride for a synthesis last semester and when I asked my professor to get it he kept telling me "it smell like a shit . it make the whole lab smell like a shit!"
    it turns out he was describing benzyl chloride, not benzoyl cl, and it did, indeed, smell like a shit :(
    im also very anti-toluene smell i think it's so gross

    • @madboycal7859
      @madboycal7859 2 года назад +1

      Yes! I hate the smell of toluene

    • @strangedivine
      @strangedivine 2 года назад +1

      I hate toluene! I haven’t used it since O Chem, but I will always remember it. And that was like 20 years ago. 😂

  • @j4mm3r61
    @j4mm3r61 2 года назад +4

    I hoped to see dichloromethane or chloroform in here too. DCM is quite common in labs too, from what I know.

  • @Outwhere
    @Outwhere 2 года назад +12

    I really like the smell of tert-butyl hydroperoxide, which has a whopping six pictograms.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +3

      I haven't smelled it - someday!

    • @oitthegroit1297
      @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад

      What does it smell like? (Please don't smell it again though!)

    • @Outwhere
      @Outwhere 2 года назад

      @@oitthegroit1297 It combines the refreshing smell of peroxides (e.g. mCPBA, which I also liked) and of tert-butyl groups.

  • @unicorntulkas
    @unicorntulkas Год назад +1

    I love the smell of turpentine substitute and acetone. Reminds me of woodworking with dad.

  • @isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676
    @isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676 2 года назад +7

    Personally, I think chloroform, sulfur dioxide, and ozone should've been on this list.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      The latter could be in an upcoming vid

    • @christopherleubner6633
      @christopherleubner6633 Год назад +1

      Definitely chloroform, pleasant sweet smell like etOH but a slight chemical hint that its probably unhealthy to be smelling it LOL 🤓

  • @RT42069
    @RT42069 10 месяцев назад +1

    I work at a chemical plant and I'm surprised MIBK isn't on here. I always thought it smelled like a candy cane

  • @annonym12321
    @annonym12321 2 года назад +12

    My worst experience with a smelly compoud was when I was working with concentrated ammonia. I was opening the container of it in the fumehood and could barely smell any ammonia at all. So me in my infinite wisdom decided to take out the beaker and instead of passive smelling, put my nose direktly on top of the beaker to inhale the ammonia smell. It legit felt like I was punched in the face and I couldn't smell anything for about 24 hours afterwards.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      Yikes!

    • @buixote
      @buixote Месяц назад

      Had a friend who did that with chloroform. He had to sit down.

  • @Hoosteen4
    @Hoosteen4 Год назад

    Really fun video! Got me thinking of the political compass meme and how this follows a similar pattern: I'd love to see a follow up with more chemicals on axes of bad smell - good smell vs toxic - harmless (eg hydrogen sulfide, isoamyl acetate, etc)

  • @At0mix
    @At0mix 2 года назад +4

    I love benzaldehyde, it smells like roasted almonds. But they say cyanide gas smells like that too... During my MSc the guy in the fumehood next to mine was working with benzaldehyde and the one on the other side used metal cyanide complexes. So I've asked the question "What am I smelling right now?" probably a dozen times in that context, luckily it was always benzaldehyde. As far as I know.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      Cyanide smells distinct - it lacks all of the sweetness

  • @Raffael-Tausend
    @Raffael-Tausend 2 года назад +5

    Once, when one of my classmates really wanted to smell some chemicals, i went to the teacher ( who is an easily amused old woman) and brought out of the chemicals cabinets room some cyclohexane, which the student immediately proceeded to smell. Within minutes, the 10mL had left the dish and enered his lungs. I didn't think it was that funny, but the teacher and the class were really amused. But it was the teachers second-to-last lesson before retirement, so idk.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      Yeah but she still has a responsibility to other human beings - F-tier

    • @namibjDerEchte
      @namibjDerEchte 2 года назад

      At least that situation wasn't even acutely dangerous beyond drowsyness leading to balance failure and hitting his head during the fall. Addiction/addiction-enabling seems the far worse aspect there, partially mediated by somewhat downplaying the risks/dangers through how it seems to have been handled.

  • @Elminator666
    @Elminator666 2 года назад +1

    I work with MEK a lot at work. It's a good cleaning solvent for paint.

  • @pyromen321
    @pyromen321 Год назад +2

    I absolutely love the smell of acetone. In strong concentrations, it’s absolutely horrible, but in very light concentrations it’s confusingly pleasant.

  • @douro20
    @douro20 5 месяцев назад

    My father used to bring home methylethyl ketone in cans from where he worked to use as a cleaning solvent. It's far more aggressive against plastics than acetone, to the point where it actually makes a very good bonding agent for certain types of plastics. Nowadays he only has access to the less potent methylpropyl ketone.

  • @lancer2204
    @lancer2204 2 года назад +1

    Great episode, just one question however...
    WTF have you been smelling that acetone smells OK?

  • @Colkadome12
    @Colkadome12 2 года назад +4

    Very controversial, but I love the smell of H2O

  • @pakey423
    @pakey423 2 года назад +16

    To me, benzaldehyde has the most wonderful odor; I wonder where this would have ended up in this list.
    Same goes for pyridine, triethylamine (both of which I don't dislike at all) & methylacrylate (which I just hate).

    • @AnderGdeT
      @AnderGdeT 2 года назад +1

      It smells like lillipops. HS students than came to the lab in summer all wanted to work with benzaldehyde.

    • @pakey423
      @pakey423 Год назад +1

      @@AnderGdeT I love the 'artificial' almond odor of benzaldehyde. As a matter of fact benzaldehyde is indeed used for almond liquors (Amaretto), almond cookies, etc. Although pure benzaldehyde has a burning taste that doesn't resemble its odor at all.....(yes, I tasted it 😅)

  • @punishedexistence
    @punishedexistence Год назад +1

    One of my favorite was methyl benzoate. I don't think it's terribly toxic but it has a very intoxicating smell, at least to me. And yes, cyclohexene is quite a nice one in small quantities. I had a small sample we made from adipic acid in Chem class, and I took it home with me. Every so often, I'd open the vial and catch a very small whiff of it, much like an aromatherapy compound. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but hey, it was quite an aroma!

  • @taylaevens24
    @taylaevens24 2 года назад +1

    Have a story about MEK, but outside the lab. Have used inside the lab, but that was perfectly routine, though you always seem to get a whiff of the stuff.

    So I was working in a convenience store, and the owners wanted to expand the shop. Part of this was moving the wall behind the tills back a couple of meters.
    This needed a floor, obviously; but the owners did not want to close the store during the pouring of the floor (Side note, that place only closed Christmas, it sucked). And the flooring mixture chosen used MEK as a solvent.
    So, during on of the shifts I was working, the workers were pouring the new floor, and of course the shop had awful ventilation, meaning me and my co-workers were breathing in MEK for about 8 hours, as well as the customers that came in.
    I personally ended up with an awful headache, and I seem to recall my co-workers were the same, and I do wonder if that resulted in any longer term damage.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      Hopefully not, although I am no medical professional!

  • @matthewmailloux3567
    @matthewmailloux3567 2 года назад +1

    Pentafluorophenol smells really sweet like cotton candy. Downside is the instant headache when working with it.

  • @sagewynngames4222
    @sagewynngames4222 Год назад +1

    MEK is huge in aviation. One of the best cleaning substances for us. I love the smell but it would also love to tell you if you had a cut on your hand. ( I assume the paint thinner we used was MEK based, it smelled different than our acetone and it wasn't as sweet as acetone is)

  • @garrettmineo
    @garrettmineo 2 года назад +3

    Benzophenone and methyl salicylate both common and nice, I also have worked too much with mercaptoethanol (aka mercraptoethanol), 3 mercaptopropionic acid (fresh dog poop}, and methylmercaptopropionate (sweet and terrible). All of the latter group have resulted in late night Chemtrek calls when things went even a little wrong.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      “Are you working with sulfur compounds” no it’s just the undergrads taking fat dumps down the hall Karen

  • @morgan0
    @morgan0 2 года назад

    currently trying to decide on a new nail file to buy since after cleaning tape residue off of the end of mine, ethyl acetate _vapor_ destroyed the plastic handle. the surface is now rough, and it’s weaker, i already broke part of it on the file end. also do i really want to be touching it (no). the tape was there for ages since i lost one with a cover and it had already made multiple holes in various pants of mine and in at least one purse so that was my attempt to stop that from happening. also between the ethyl acetate, alcohol, whatever is in goof off, and dish soap, it’s still a little sticky too, probably since it’s a rough surface.

  • @douro20
    @douro20 5 месяцев назад

    Octyl acetate, an ester present in citrus fruits, has the distinct smell of oranges. If you've ever worked with Loctite 592- a highly oil resistant thread sealant- you'll know what it smells like as it is one of the ingredients.

  • @robertlapointe4093
    @robertlapointe4093 2 года назад +7

    Judging by my experience, and the other comments here, odor is very subjective. I find the odor of MEK to be much more objectionable than acetone (which, to me, is quite unpleasant). MTBE is another nope for me. Benzene and chloroform both smell OK to me, but toluene, xylenes, carbon tetrachloride and dichloromethane smell horrible. I find the odor of dienes nauseating (butadiene, isoprene, cyclopentadiene, methylcyclopentadiene, ethylidene norbornene, etc.). Although phosgene doesn't smell all that bad, knowing its toxicity makes it a definite no.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      Interesting

    • @oitthegroit1297
      @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад

      What do each of the dienes smell like, specifically?

    • @robertlapointe4093
      @robertlapointe4093 2 года назад +1

      @@oitthegroit1297 To me they all have both a sharp and pungent component, somewhat like HCl, and a dirty sickening stench, like a mix of butyric acid, fatty amines and alkylphosphines. If you have ever been in a tire store, or a Harbor Freight, you have probably gotten a good dose of butadiene (which is constantly out-gassing from synthetic rubber), which leans more towards the sharp and pungent, while the heavier dienes have more of the stench component to their odor. Note that butadiene is listed as a class 1 carcinogen (confirmed human carcinogen), although its acute toxicity is low.

    • @chang.stanley
      @chang.stanley Год назад

      Your nose is broken

  • @custos3249
    @custos3249 2 года назад +2

    Best way to tell if your lab mates are paying attention/you need better partners, casually hold up an empty test tube, "hey, this smell like hf to you?"

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +2

      that is like shouting fire in a crowded theatre

  • @rem520
    @rem520 Год назад +1

    I think the best smelling compound I smelled in organic lab courses was Benzaldehyde. Its not really that toxic, no more than the average organic liquid, but its well known as the main component of bitter almond oil from the cyanide-containing bitter almonds, and indeed it did smell like the best almonds or like those amaretto cookies. I think this is why people say cyanide smells like almonds despite many reports that cyanide smells nothing like almonds and more like pool water or nothing, but I've not really smelled straight cyanide myself and only worked with a few nitriles. Have you smelled any cyanide-containing compounds, and if so what did they smell like?

  • @mouselmao
    @mouselmao 2 года назад +2

    In my high school, we had a four-year biomedical sciences program, the last year of which we got to work with indole to test for the presence of E. coli in water. In that setting, the smell was pretty unpleasant, especially given how potent it was (each group was only working with microliters of the stuff). It's far more pleasant outside of the lab setting.

  • @chrisbradshaw649
    @chrisbradshaw649 2 года назад

    On diethyl ether, I worked in a lab for a year that constantly smelled of it. On a hot day, it was almost a dizzying amount in the air, even though no one in the lab used ether in the lab except for me, he also used a few ml at a time. Eventually I discovered the smell was strongest when bending down by the eyewash sink in a rarely used corner of the lab to tie my shoelaces. Turned out, it was rising out of the drains. A couple of times a day for the rest of the week, I'd go upstairs to investigate. One afternoon, I found an undergrad pouring ether down the sink, and passing under our lab. We had some kit (can't remember what it was, I never used it) that had a constant circulating jacket of hot water, which drained into the same pipes. The ether from upstairs would reach our level, hit the hot water and boil, and come out of the drains on the floor.

  • @phenethylamine91
    @phenethylamine91 2 года назад +1

    I love the heck out of the smells of MTBE and tetrahydrofurane.

  • @professionalasexual172
    @professionalasexual172 Год назад +1

    Sudden urge to go to the closest petrol station and have a nice relaxing afternoon

  • @ThePhysicalReaction
    @ThePhysicalReaction 2 года назад +1

    a lot of these smells will give me a migraine headache if I can't escape the exposure

  • @szilveszterszalai230
    @szilveszterszalai230 Год назад +1

    Once I was helping in a lab and they had an old mason jar that had DCM in it and it smelled like white chocolate

  • @Kirillissimus
    @Kirillissimus 2 года назад +1

    I would expect DCM and DCE to be on the list as well. Dichloroethane (a somewhat popular glue for some types of plastics) has a very nice sweet smell but it is still toxic and slightly cancerogenic. In terms of forbidden pleasures it is probably quite close to phenol. And unlike phenol you can even taste it without getting your tongue burnt although I would really not recommend it.

  • @KATinBLACK
    @KATinBLACK Год назад

    My favorite forbidden fragrances were cyclohexane and formaldehyde back when I did labs. Although formaldehyde is associated with gross specimens and cadavers, by itself it smells like sickly sweet-ish pickle juice. Well, I do like to sip the juice for pickles, olives, and daikon so maybe I just like pickling solutions.

  • @jonsimpson6690
    @jonsimpson6690 2 года назад +2

    Classical phenol. That stuff helped me for my throat

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      Yeah someone shared a picture of that stuff and it nopes me out

  • @NoShotTwoKill
    @NoShotTwoKill 2 года назад +2

    Phosgene aka the „forbidden sniff“

  • @BradSchmor
    @BradSchmor 2 года назад +2

    We had this one wacky girl in undergrad who loved - LOVED - the smell of acetone. She would open squirt bottles of it to smell it.
    One day she went into the NMR lab and opened a bottle to smell it, not paying too close of attention when she did so. One other person in the lab watching her was a Chinese post-doc, who (I think like most people) when panicking reached for his first language and sputtered something out in Chinese. Then he stammered out "No.. that's... chloroform!".
    DOWN she went. Her head made an audible hollow coconut sound hitting the hard floor. She was OK in the end, but that was really stupid.

    • @PepekBezlepek
      @PepekBezlepek 2 года назад

      that's surprising! did she aggressively breathe it in multiple times? because otherwise I can't imagine it knocking her down just like that, I've smelled it many times

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      I’ve always heard it’s actually rather hard to get knocked out with CHCl3

    • @BradSchmor
      @BradSchmor 2 года назад

      @@That_Chemist she stuck her nose right in there and huffed it deep.
      I've also heard that it's not that easy, and I've smelled chloroform many times. Ether made me woozy many more times than chloroform ever did.

  • @developpement6992
    @developpement6992 24 дня назад

    Can you do a ranking for sweat and skin bacteria product odors ?

  • @andrewv3905
    @andrewv3905 2 года назад +1

    Amyl nitrite might be one to consider

  • @Conex145
    @Conex145 2 года назад

    How does this rating system work? Is there a source where I can read it up? Not used to this 😅

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      S is like super, then ABCD like the letter grades - f is a fail

  • @sage5296
    @sage5296 2 года назад +2

    I had my big toenails removed completely after they became ingrown for like the fourth time, and didn’t know it was phenol that they used, that’s cool

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      Yeah one of my chemist friends had it done

  • @Bloated_Tony_Danza
    @Bloated_Tony_Danza Год назад +1

    VM&P Naptha from the hardware store smells wonderful

  • @borwinbandelow2781
    @borwinbandelow2781 2 года назад +1

    I just tried do do a protection with TBSCl and it didn't work at all. When I wheighed it in outside of the fumehood I didn't smell anything and it was a very old bottle. Maybe it was all hydrolized?

  • @HulaLuau
    @HulaLuau 2 года назад

    Whats your take on the pyridine dead fish smell or the triton x highschool urinal whiff?

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      I don’t think pyridine is like dead fish, it’s more like - idk, pyridine or the smell of a freezer

  • @user-on9wc3bc8p
    @user-on9wc3bc8p Год назад

    Is tert butanol dangerous for our body when got inhalation

  • @PropagandaFacts
    @PropagandaFacts 2 года назад +4

    somebody huffing whiteout puts it in S tier... they know better but like you said it's not their fault.

  • @klocugh12
    @klocugh12 2 года назад +2

    Which tier would benzene make?

  • @bosssboooooo
    @bosssboooooo 8 месяцев назад

    I'm surprised nobody talks about tosyl chloride, my fav popcorn smell in the lab!

  • @matdyke5046
    @matdyke5046 3 месяца назад

    Ive always liked the smells of hydrazine, morpholine, mek, gasoline, diesel, paper mills, and anfo smoke.

  • @isaacm1929
    @isaacm1929 2 года назад +7

    Ah, yes. The chemicals of my city... Now I can recreate that nostalgic smell...
    Ps:No one gives a F about pollution in my city...

  • @athmaid
    @athmaid Год назад +1

    Always get a massive headache from all the acetone in the ochem lab

  • @somethinggeeky
    @somethinggeeky Год назад

    You should do a tier list of all the alcohols. menthol, ethanol, on up as high ordered as you can. I work in waste water and sometimes we use octanol as a defoamer. Great smell, like beaver musk. Don't get even a drop on you, you will be smelling it all day. ( Probably why they use it in perfume)

  • @jacobengland7285
    @jacobengland7285 Год назад +2

    Had to work with thiophenol for the first time this summer 🤢, me and the grad student I was working with hated it enough to swap it for diphenyl disulfide and luckily the reaction still worked

  • @TELEPINOTV
    @TELEPINOTV 2 года назад +3

    Ethyl bromoacetate in small concentration should be illegal, sooo fruity

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      Go check out Thyzoid's most recent video making ethyl chloroacetate!

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      @Thyzoid_laboratories

  • @luxthesarcastic1027
    @luxthesarcastic1027 2 года назад +1

    Not sure if i have the gene for cyanide (my grandmother does) but I've always joked that since I absolutely love the scent of almond if there was ever a gas that does me in it's that, if I can detect it.

  • @Dqtube
    @Dqtube 2 года назад +1

    A noticeable slightly sympathetic smell is also Hydroquinone. On the other side of the spectrum for me is 1,4-Naphthoquinone, I personaly called the devil's breath. This is the type of smell where you know it's better to keep your distance.

  • @AwestrikeFearofGods
    @AwestrikeFearofGods 11 месяцев назад +1

    Where would you rank toluene, xylene, benzene, and nitrobenzene? Gun nuts always talk about the odor of the older formulation of Hoppe's No. 9, and that the responsible ingredient was possibly nitrobenzene.

  • @wilderuhl3450
    @wilderuhl3450 2 года назад +2

    That chemist: I’m gonna rank chemicals
    The viewer: based off of versatility and safety
    That chemist: *anakin stare*
    The viewer: versatility and safety right?

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +3

      you: I’m a youngling :)
      Me: not for long

  • @jimsvideos7201
    @jimsvideos7201 Год назад +1

    This channel is exactly what happens when smart people aren't adequately occupied and I am _here_ for it.

  • @Taximilian
    @Taximilian 2 года назад

    I got a small storry about HF. Just for youre Info Iam not a chemist. I worked in a company where we used a paste that contains HF and Nitric Accid (IDK I think it was Nitric) to dissolve the Oxide after Welding from Stainless . So there where some colleagues who dosent wear Gloves or goggles while using this stuff. Best qoute of one after he got some of it on his hands "oh that stuff is not dangerous i do this for like 20 years" while u can see how his hand slowly gets orange. I got some of this stuff on my work pants (they where supposed to be Chemical resitance) and that stuff melted my pants... . Another day a colleague droped a 25L Cannister of Cleaning H2O2 and soaked his whole Clothes and dosent change them for like half an houre after this (you have to know he was quite tanned). His legs was white like a ghost.

  • @gilburtfilburt8779
    @gilburtfilburt8779 2 года назад +4

    You keep saying MEK smells good and it's blowing my mind here. As someone who works with PVC solvent, I think that acetone-cyclohexane-MEK nose you get from glue and primer is just noxious.

  • @darikdatta
    @darikdatta 2 месяца назад

    I love the smell of diesel exhaust. Not sure if it's the CO or something else but I know it's not good for me.

  • @hansguentertv2142
    @hansguentertv2142 2 года назад +1

    In our undergrad lab, someone wanted to melt cyclohexene on the hot plate, but forgot to put the lid off and the vessel (100 mL) exploded and everything smelled for several days afterwards.

  • @chem525
    @chem525 2 года назад +3

    Pyrdine. Can't stand the smell of it. We try anything to substitute it out.

  • @tehlaichwee1511
    @tehlaichwee1511 Год назад

    a question, what does the Boc in Boc anhydride mean?

  • @IvyAltdrachen
    @IvyAltdrachen Год назад +1

    will never forget when i accidentally inhaled too much diethyl ether during lab. fucking splendid.

  • @young-stove
    @young-stove 2 года назад +5

    A tiny bit of Xylene diluted in water smells amazing

    • @oitthegroit1297
      @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад

      It just smells like gasoline to me, and I don't like that smell.

    • @young-stove
      @young-stove 2 года назад +1

      @@oitthegroit1297 what I'm specifically talking about is when there is a drop or less of xylene in a few litres of water, at that point it has a unique and very gent;e and sweet smell, otherwise, I totally agree. Xylene on its own smells evil. Also, some shampoos leave a very similar, if not identical smell on hair to the smell of diluted xylene

  • @RangerOfTheOrder
    @RangerOfTheOrder 2 года назад

    In grade school I loved the smell of my white out. My 3rd teacher told me it's not good for me to smell it, to which I said "It smells so clean".
    Also broken glowsticks have a very distinct chemically sweet smell, which I think is the phenol that's produced as a byproduct.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      It could also be the Phthalate solvent

  • @ThatRedHusky
    @ThatRedHusky Год назад +1

    If you snap 2 methyl tert-butyl ethers to a diethyl ether you get what I like to call the "kindergarten seagull"

  • @airysquared
    @airysquared Год назад +1

    Every time I hear about diethyl ether, I remember reading about "ether frolics" . I imagine those resulted in some buildings burning down.

  • @firstname_lastname3507
    @firstname_lastname3507 2 года назад +1

    It’s crazy, every video I think I’ve heard about the most crazy chemical, and then the next video I get proven wrong

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад

      Same - even I’ve been surprised a lot

  • @indigateau241
    @indigateau241 2 года назад +3

    I actually prefer the smell of THF to plain old diethyl ether, the only problem being that it's THF.
    On the topic of incredibly toxic things that smell nice, when working with high-voltage electronics, I find the smell of ozone to be so alluring.

    • @That_Chemist
      @That_Chemist  2 года назад +1

      In small amounts of THF I agree, but it gets too intense too fast

    • @Felixkeeg
      @Felixkeeg 2 года назад

      THF smells like ass. No other way to describe it

    • @oitthegroit1297
      @oitthegroit1297 2 года назад

      I love the smell of ozone too!