# Making the Worst-Smelling Chemical Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Context\ **Tags:** chemistry, thioacetone, stinky\ **Created:** [28 December 2022 14:00 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/making-the-worst-smelling-chemical-ever/2518 "2022-12-28T14:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/user_avatar/scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/johnwalker/32/17415_2.png) [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\ **Post date:** [28 December 2022 14:00 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/making-the-worst-smelling-chemical-ever/2518/1 "2022-12-28T14:00:47Z")
[![](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/uploads/default/original/2X/e/ea4d425834784e8233e84ab77bc4eb2a888b98fb.jpeg "Making the stinkiest chemical known to man") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmAG8-V_WQY) Wikipedia relates: > [Thioacetone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thioacetone) has an intensely foul odor. Like many low molecular weight organosulfur compounds, the smell is potent and can be detected even when highly diluted. In 1889, an attempt to distill the chemical in the German city of Freiburg was followed by cases of vomiting, nausea and unconsciousness in an area with a radius of 0.75 kilometres (0.47 mi) around the laboratory due to the smell. In an 1890 report, British chemists at the Whitehall Soap Works in Leeds noted that dilution seemed to make the smell worse and described the smell as “fearful”. Thioacetone is considered a dangerous chemical due to its extremely foul odor and ability to render people unconscious, induce vomiting, and be detected over long distances. Derek Lowe has written of this substance in _Science_, “[Things I Won’t Work WIth: Thioacetone](https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-thioacetone)”. ---
**Author:** ![Jiggs](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@Jiggs](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/Jiggs)\ **Post date:** [28 December 2022 14:14 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/making-the-worst-smelling-chemical-ever/2518/2 "2022-12-28T14:14:17Z")
Makes me think of the very high frequency sound emitters used to drive teenagers away. Could this be used to clear a crowd? ---
**Author:** ![johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/user_avatar/scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/johnwalker/32/17415_2.png) [@johnwalker](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/johnwalker)\ **Post date:** [28 December 2022 14:17 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/making-the-worst-smelling-chemical-ever/2518/3 "2022-12-28T14:17:26Z")
> [@Jiggs](#): > > Could this used to clear a crowd? You’d have to be very careful which way the wind was blowing. Also, since it disperses readily and works even at great dilutions, it wouldn’t be obvious to those in the crowd what direction to run. ---
**Author:** ![Mooselake](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/user_avatar/scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/mooselake/32/5958_2.png) [@Mooselake](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/Mooselake)\ **Post date:** [29 December 2022 04:05 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/making-the-worst-smelling-chemical-ever/2518/4 "2022-12-29T04:05:30Z")
It would be a great addition to the porch pirate [glitter bomb](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWeu2dxHRDg&t=914s), replacing it’s fart spray, although some attention would need to be paid to concentration and total amount. ---
**Author:** ![1967mustangman](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/user_avatar/scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/1967mustangman/32/35_2.png) [@1967mustangman](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/1967mustangman)\ **Post date:** [29 December 2022 04:17 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/making-the-worst-smelling-chemical-ever/2518/5 "2022-12-29T04:17:38Z")
NileRed is crazy