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The author is not a physician. The content on this website does not, and is not intended to constitute medical advice. It should not be relied upon when making medical decisions. It is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other healthcare provider.

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Hexanoic Acid (Goats, and Remember Tenderbutton?)

Category: Stinky
Posted on: August 21, 2008 11:23 PM, by Molecule of the Day

Short alkanoic acids stink. Apparently hexanoic acid smells of goats:


Hexanoic acid, as Dylan Stiles (L:tender P:button) memorably mentioned, smells of goats. Goats! Alkanoic acids smell of vinegar, cheese, vomit, poo, and, apparently, goats.

Comments

You left out Formic Acid. :-)

There's also higher weight alkanoic acids, quite a few of which are important.

As for smelling like poo, there's also indole and skatole.

Dave

Posted by: Dave | August 22, 2008 11:02 AM

Buteric Acid is the one that smells like vomit. Distinctly unpleasant. Some was spilled in a stairwell at MIT once. It soaked into the concrete and took 6 months for the smell to go away. Lovely.

Posted by: BK | September 26, 2008 8:49 PM

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