
Wasabi fire alarm a lifesaver for the deaf (2008) - EndXA
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-wasabi-idUST29421020080318
======
gav
It looks like they won a IG Nobel in 2011: [https://www.improbable.com/ig-
about/winners/#ig2011](https://www.improbable.com/ig-about/winners/#ig2011)

And it's in the National Museum of Scotland: [https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-
our-collections/stories/scienc...](https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-
collections/stories/science-and-technology/elements-of-esf/elements/fire/)

Unfortunately I can't seem to find any evidence that they turned it into a
real product.

~~~
polm23
This old page makes it look like it was a real product, unclear how it was
sold though. Also no product name, oddly...

[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304171428/http://www.pixen-...](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304171428/http://www.pixen-e.jp/product/wasabi.html)

~~~
numpad0
“臭気発生装置 WA-1型(Odor generation device Type WA-1)” seems to be the name. Listed
on Rakuten for about $516 but not sure if it’s in stock or merely listed
there.

Looks like it works as a wireless slave device for compatible smoke detectors,
with one included in the kit.

------
Johnny555
I dated a girl once with a hearing impairment -- she was deaf in one ear,
impaired (mostly high frequency) in the other. She had a strobe light smoke
detector in her room.

One night I stayed over and woke up to the fire alarm (roommate had burnt some
popcorn). She slept right through the alarm and I had to wake her.

She said she'd upgrade to a "bed shaker" alarm. Not sure how well that worked
out, we stopped dating shortly after (end of semester).

The Wasabi alarm sounds interesting, but if it's defeated by a blocked nose,
maybe the bed shaker type is better.

~~~
ipsum2
Wasabi is also a great way to relieve congestion.

~~~
csunbird
Is it like the nasal sprays where it gets less and less effective? If not, I
might buy a jar :D

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dredmorbius
Beware with the elderly, as smell can also be a sense which diminishes with
age, or as a comorbidity of conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

~~~
oh_sigh
The power of wasabi isn't really the smell so much as it is a chemical
interaction between allyl isothiocyanate and TRPA1. So in that sense it is
more similar to the heat from a chili pepper than it is the aroma of
something. I'm not positive, but I don't believe there is age related
reduction in feelings of heat from capsaicin.

~~~
adrianmonk
Long shot, but maybe you know the answer.

There is some chemical in certain shampoos that affects me more than most. The
sensation is less like smelling and more like something is penetrating into my
nose. It doesn't feel quite like burning or heat, but it's intense in a sort
of similar way.

Sorry that's vague, but maybe this is a well-known thing.

~~~
jborichevskiy
Perhaps it's Tea Tree Oil:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil)

Trader Joe's in the U.S. sells a line of shampoo/conditioner that has that
extract in it, and if it gets into my eyes it's game over.

[https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/tea-tree-tingle-
bath-p...](https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/tea-tree-tingle-bath-
products)

------
RcouF1uZ4gsC
> Except for one person with a blocked nose, all woke up within two minutes of
> the smell reaching them.

Seems like a pretty bad failure mode, if it doesn’t work when people have a
bad cold.

Also, the time delay is an issue. An audible alarm can wake people up much
faster.

One thing they might be to use an sound based alarm, but that has enough low
frequencies that it makes your skull resonate. A lot of dead people, may have
conduction issues, and the sound can be transmitted through bone. For the
people that have a neurological basis for deafness, even sounds that you
cannot perceive if they resonate the right structures can make you feel
uncomfortable.

~~~
pmiller2
I've seen fire alarms that use very bright, flashing lights. Those might very
well wake someone up from a dead sleep, but I'm not sure what the research
says on them.

~~~
jagger27
As someone who slept under one that would start flashing just before the sound
started, oh yes, the light alone can wake you up. It's like a flash of
lightning, or at least a really bright camera flash.

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totetsu
If you want your own wasabi spray, maybe for a weekend iot doorbell project..
here you are.
[https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B003XPHDXG/](https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B003XPHDXG/)

------
voldacar
This is the most clever thing I've seen posted on this site in a while. This
was in 2008 and they said it would be sold within two years, so I assume that
it wasn't a successful product? Or at least never made it to the West?

~~~
bobthepanda
One problem I don’t know how to solve for this, is that wasabia japonica is
fairly expensive, hard to grow or find, and not shelf stable.

The vast majority of “wasabi” is horseradish and food coloring.

~~~
benzor
They mention in the article that the smell is produced synthetically
(presumably for this exact reason).

~~~
bobthepanda
If the natural compound is not shelf stable I wonder what the difference with
the synthetic is.

~~~
beenBoutIT
The synthetic could be more powerful, something like the difference between
THC and synthetic THC.

~~~
mrauha
Perhaps you're confusing THC with synthetic cannabinoids. The molecule doesn't
care whether it's made by plants or at a lab.

Plants yield a mixture of cannabinoids at some concentration, which constitute
~10% of the dried plant matter. These can be extracted and separated with
various techniques. The effects of pure THC are different than that of the
mixture.

Upcoming schemes use engineered micro-organisms to produce specific
cannabinoids, efficiency of the systems is ramping up. My understanding is
that the synthesis of cannabinoids is is quite an inefficient way of
manufacture.

None the less, it's all the same - covalently bound atoms :)

------
shard
A few months ago I took a safety training course. In the course the instructor
showed us a video of a voice fire alarm, which talked along with emitting a
shrill sound. The reason was that some people, especially children, could not
be awakened by the alarm sound, but will wake upon hearing a human voice. I
have a mix of old and new fire alarms, and my new fire alarm does indeed talk
in addition to emitting the alarm sound.

------
jakelazaroff
Information seems to be scant about how this has fared since the article was
written. But it looks like it launched in 2009 and also won an Ig Nobel prize:
[https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a7253/our-
favori...](https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a7253/our-favorite-ig-
nobel-the-wasabi-fire-alarm/)

------
truesy
Reminds me of a story someone told me, about her grandparents who were both
deaf. They had an alarm clock that had a string attached to their wrist, and
would tug when they needed to wake up.

------
walrus01
I think I have seen alarm clock systems marketed for the fully deaf which are
a vibrating thing you ziptie underneath your mattress/box spring.

------
aaron695
It's well known you can't smell while you sleep so why is this a good idea?

(Other than the many many other reasons it's a bad idea)

~~~
Johnny555
Given how ammonia smelling salts can be used to revive people that are
unconscious, I can see how wasabi vapor could have the same effect

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smelling_salts#Usage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smelling_salts#Usage)

~~~
aaron695
"Smelling salts are used to arouse consciousness because the release of
ammonia (NH3) gas that accompanies their use irritates the membranes of the
nose and lungs, and thereby triggers an inhalation reflex. This reflex alters
the pattern of breathing, resulting in improved respiratory flow rates and
possibly alertness."

The article on Wasabi says smell, smelling salts are not actually olfactory.

~~~
Johnny555
So like what happens if you inhale wasabi?

 _The article on Wasabi says smell, smelling salts are not actually
olfactory._

The article was a few paragraph press release meant for mainstream news, not a
technical description.

Elsewhere you can find more details:

 _Wasabi has a pungent odor that irritates the nose, and it was this property
of the plant that was used for the fire alarm_

...

 _When wasabi has been grated, the allyl isothiocyanate contained in it is
broken down by an enzyme and becomes a bitter gas that stimulates the nervous
system. Surprisingly, it can wake people up, both hearing-impaired and non-
hearing-impaired alike, within a period of 10 seconds to two minutes,
according to the experiments_

[https://web-japan.org/trends/11_sci-tech/sci120315.html](https://web-
japan.org/trends/11_sci-tech/sci120315.html)

~~~
aaron695
So you'd be lightly macing them.

I think it would be hard to get the dosage correct in a room with fans and
airconditioning and windows that may or may not be on.

And fun to test every 6 months.

But it is interesting.

