
Why do old books smell? [video] - bookofjoe
https://www.bookofjoe.com/2019/03/why-do-old-books-smell.html
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davegardner
I've heard the term biblichor used as a name for the smell of old books. This
is derived from the words Biblos: book Ichor: the fluid that flows like blood
in the veins of gods

This was inspired by the term petrichor.

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degenerate
This post/page is simply a link to a 2012 video with the answer:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInTfrDnA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInTfrDnA)

Basically, a combination of chemicals in the paper + ink causes the smell, as
the acidity in the old paper decays it.

This post needs (2012) in the title, or in my opinion, deletion, since there
is not much to discuss.

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lettergram
> This post needs (2012) in the title, or in my opinion, deletion, since there
> is not much to discuss.

Why does the date matter to your statement at all? You’re really suggesting
the link being replaced by a YouTube video (this content is date irrelevant
anyway). Which I agree, video is the source of the info.

~~~
dredmorbius
These are long-established HN guidelines.

 _Please submit the original source. If a post reports on something found on
another site, submit the latter._

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

The "year in the title" rule is not explicitly listed, though it's well known:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12552507#12572710](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12552507#12572710)

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jjw1414
"Do you know that books smell like nutmeg or some spice from a foreign land? I
loved to smell them when I was a boy. Lord, there were a lot of lovely books
once, before we let them go". - Faber, the retired English professor in Ray
Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

The scent of old books always makes me think of this quote.

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robotmay
I play a number of old musical instruments from around the 1920s/1930s;
diatonic accordions and a concertina. The construction of the bellows is not
dissimilar from that of older books, as they're made of cardboard, leather,
and hide glue. Interestingly the accordions don't really have much of a smell
(except one which has cedar reedblocks, which is delicious), but the
concertina smells absolutely fantastic and honestly it's a huge part of the
instrument for me. If I haven't played it in a while it's one of the first
things I notice again when I get it out, and my girlfriend regularly mentions
how great it smells as well.

Not a huge surprise that we both love physical books as well :)

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MagicPropmaker
Original source:

[https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/wh...](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/what-
is-that-old-books-smell-chemistry-has-answers/467982/)

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userbinator
New books do, too. It is interesting how one can tell just by its smell,
approximately how old a book is. To me, new ones smell more like paint
(probably the ink), while older ones I can only describe as "book" \--- it's
certainly a distinctive smell.

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inkyoto
Luca Turin explains it really well:

«... Dzing! smells of paper, and you can spend a good while trying to figure
out whether it is packing cardboard, kraft wrapping paper, envelopes while you
lick the glue, old books, or something else. I have no idea whether this was
the objective, but I have a few clues as to why it happened. _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».

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mr_gibbins
It's not just old books. Even those just a couple of decades have this too. I
recently ordered a second-hand copy Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
after misplacing my own, and it also has that peculiar smell - I love it.

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Tharkun
It's one of my favourite smells. Right up there with ripe tomatoes and freshly
baked bread. I have very strong & happy associations with all three of those
smells. Whenever I pick up a book, I automatically give it a sniff.

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snazz
See
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19300801](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19300801)
from a couple days ago for a similar discussion on a different article.

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bitxbitxbitcoin
I guess I never attributed the smell to old books so much as certain sections
of certain libraries. But in retrospect it's obvious!

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lostlogin
One I always like is X-ray film library. They smell like salt and vinegar
chips.

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animal531
I find myself to be somewhat allergic to old books. The older they become the
more my nose runs when I spend time too close to them. It'll start slowly
until eventually I get a full on sinus attack.

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1996
What's funny is some people complain that ebook don't have that smell

Personally, that's a pro for ebooks

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dana321
fousty smelling.. decomposition.. oils.. dust.. food.. thats my guess before
reading.

