perfume

Certain experiences during my mid-teens a quarter of a century ago left me with this strong Pavlovian reaction to a ladies' perfume called White Linen. It's not very popular any more, and not at all among young women. So imagine my moment of confusion when without warning a whiff of White Linen hits me at George Best airport, making me automatically prick up my ears -- and I find that the wearer is a stout 65ish grandmotherly lady in a floral print dress.
You may recall a prior blog in which I talked about the wonders of whale poo and a substance called ambergris that can be either defecated or regurgitated by whales and is used to make expensive perfumes. Well, my favorite comic strip, Piled Higher and Deeper (i.e. PhD Comics), posted a 2-minute thesis presented by Baillie Redfern from the University of British Columbia on how whale barf is used in perfumes and how her research is attempting to re-create the wonders of ambergris in the lab. These 2-minute thesis presentations are great. Keep it up PhD Comics!
tags: Obsession for .. Animals?, perfume, Obsession for Men, Bronx Zoo, Wildlife Conservation Society, conservation biology, behavioral ecology, animals, mammals, big cats, weird, strange, wow, streaming video This fascinating video shows that Calvin Klein's "Obsession for Men" is NOT just for men! This is a great example of how careful observation of captive animals' behavior is directly impacting research with wild animals. When biologists at the Bronx Zoo started spritzing "Obsession for Men" cologne near heat-and-motion-sensitive cameras, the tigers, snow leopards, jaguars and cheetahs…
Got a lovely nerdette in your life and desperately trying to sweep her off her feet this holiday season? I've got a few ideas that might bail you out... If you can't think of a better way to show her how you light up when you see her? How about a T-Shirt! Well, this one, anyway. These shirts show a set of hearts that, when separated, are only half-lit. But magically, or, you know, scientifically, when the two are brought together the hearts on the shirt - like your own - light up! Of course, nerdettes are still women, and there's a gift all women love: Jewelry. But if you're going to buy…