Since
it is more important to be warned of danger than guided to delights our
senses are made more sensitive to pain than pleasure. We can detect by
the smell one two-millionth of a milligram of oil of roses or musk, but
we can detect one two-billionth of a milligram of mercaptan, which is
the vilest smelling compound that man has so far invented. If you do not
know how much a milligram is consider a drop picked up by the point of
a needle and imagine that divided into two billion parts. Also try to
estimate the weight of the odorous particles that guide a dog to the fox
or warn a deer of the presence of man. The unaided nostril can rival the
spectroscope in the detection and analysis of unweighable amounts of
matter.
What we call flavor or savor is a joint effect of taste and odor in
which the latter predominates. There are only four tastes of importance,
acid, alkaline, bitter and sweet. The acid, or sour taste, is the
perception of hydrogen atoms charged with positive electricity. The
alkaline, or soapy taste, is the perception of hydroxyl radicles charged
with negative electricity.
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