January 18, 2011
Why secondhand bookstores smell good

powells:

Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us.

Finally, an explanation!

This does not explain the way Housing Works smells.

(Source: kleir)

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    I smell a trip to McKays in my future….
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    Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are...
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    This is what my room smells like.
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    Blows my mind.
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