These tiny glass capsules contain a liquid scent and are glued onto paper. When the paper is scratched, some of the capsules are ruptured and the scent is released.
______________
The origin
'Scratch and sniff was born of the noble endeavor of making copies. In the dark ages before word processors, inkjet printers, and the Xerox machine, copies of documents were made by placing carbon paper between the sheet you were typing on and the sheet that would become the copy. In the early 1960s, an organic chemist at 3M named Gale Matson developed a way to make ink copies without carbon paper, using a process called microencapsulation.
'The Matson process uses two sheets of paper – one for the original document and one for the copy – on top of one another. The top sheet of paper is coated with microcapsules of colorless ink. When someone writes or types on the paper, the capsules break and release their ink, which mixes with a developer chemical on the second sheet to create a copy.
'Not wanting Matson’s technology to be a one trick pony, 3M began to search for alternate uses for micro-encapsulation and found that it could be applied to scented oils as well as ink. Scratch ‘N Sniff debuted in 1965 and is found in various forms, from stickers to pull-apart perfume sample strips and beyond.' -- mental_floss
The origin
'Scratch and sniff was born of the noble endeavor of making copies. In the dark ages before word processors, inkjet printers, and the Xerox machine, copies of documents were made by placing carbon paper between the sheet you were typing on and the sheet that would become the copy. In the early 1960s, an organic chemist at 3M named Gale Matson developed a way to make ink copies without carbon paper, using a process called microencapsulation.
'The Matson process uses two sheets of paper – one for the original document and one for the copy – on top of one another. The top sheet of paper is coated with microcapsules of colorless ink. When someone writes or types on the paper, the capsules break and release their ink, which mixes with a developer chemical on the second sheet to create a copy.
'Not wanting Matson’s technology to be a one trick pony, 3M began to search for alternate uses for micro-encapsulation and found that it could be applied to scented oils as well as ink. Scratch ‘N Sniff debuted in 1965 and is found in various forms, from stickers to pull-apart perfume sample strips and beyond.' -- mental_floss
_____________
Further
Further
_____________
13 notable scratch & sniff things
1.
'"Scratch and sniff" cards impregnated with the scent of anhydrous ammonia could be distributed to Illinois teachers and other school employees to familiarize them with the smell of a key ingredient in making methamphetamine. The goal: to help educators and staff at schools and daycare centers ID children who have been exposed to meth. "Most people haven't smelled meth," which smells like cat urine, said bill sponsor Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (R-Chicago). "Not too many people know about this drug, and it's everywhere ... The teacher might say, 'How many cats do you have at home?' The student could say, 'We don't have any cats.'" Thus alerted, educators could inform police about their suspicions, leading to an investigation or a search of the child's home.' -- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
2.
'Here's another product from SolidAlliance. This iCool. It's an MP3 player with 256MB of internal memory and an SD slot and they smell like chocolate, roses, lemon, strawberry, raspberry, or blueberry. Rather, they smell like any other plastic container until your hand rubs against them in use. This triggers the sophisticated scratch and sniff technology, and the smell appears and grows stronger the more you touch the player. If you're interested, for a much higher cost, you can request a version with the smell of your choice and it will be custom made for you.' -- akihabaranews.com
3.
'For his 1981 feature POLYESTER, John Waters, a fan of tacky movie gimmicks, bypassed the complicated technology of Smell-O-Vision and relied on the low-tech (but more reliable) method of a simple scratch-and-sniff card. At certain points in the movie, a number would flash on the screen and you’d scratch and sniff that number on a card you were given before the show. I still have my card (signed by Waters when he visited my alma mater, Kent State, back in the mid 1980s), but the smells don’t work anymore. I do, however, remember to avoid scratching and sniffing No. 2 at all costs. If you get the DVD (which I think has some version of the card), I’d suggest you follow that advice as well.' -- The Movie Man
4.
'Heavy rock group THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERS are using the latest scratch-and-sniff technology to give their new album the whiff of rotting meat. The US trio's album, OLIDOUS OPERETTAS, will come with the aroma of decaying flesh. Frontman MORTON FAIRBANKS explains, "It will be a scented-face CD, which essentially means it will be scratch-'n'-sniff-able... Our CD will smell like rotten meat."' -- Fark dot com
5.
'Today, we had a county municipal court judge come to our high school to talk about driving laws and consequences. At the end of his talk, he gave all of us scratch and sniff stickers that say "underage driving stinks" and smell like vomit.' -- pianoforte, KCATM
6.
ScenTeck Technologies’ Scratch-N-Sniff Pro software and System Scent Card replace the standard vibrating sound waves coming from computer speakers with unique vibrating tones that the brain recognizes not as a sound, but a scent. Hriful’s team developed a System Scent Card that reacts to normal auditory sensors generated from a computer’s hard drive. These sensors, once triggered, are combined with Hriful’s proprietary Scent Waves, and then broadcast from computer speakers, replacing the standard vibrating sound waves with a unique vibrating tone.
7.
DigiScents Inc. in Oakland, California, created the iSmell scent synthesizer. You insert a scent cartridge into the iSmell, which is connected to a computer or video game console, and it releases the scent in short bursts at appropriate times, i.e. when you’re playing a first person shooter and get into a firefight, you’ll actually get whiffs of gunpowder as you fire rounds. PC World named the iSmell one of the 25 Worst Tech Products of All-Time.
8.
SCRATCH N SNIFF CINEMA February 2009, the UKs first Scratch ‘n’ Sniff Cinema for Valentine's Day: The UK’s first Scratch ‘n’ Sniff Cinema showing Peter Greenaway’s classic, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover opened for Valentine’s Day this year. Bompas & Parr created aromas including ‘rotting meat’ and ‘dusty books’ that captured the scent of key moments of Greenaway’s film. These aromas were micro-encapsulated and printed onto special scratch ‘n’ sniff cards for everyone in the audience.
9.
'There have been many attempts to improve the revenue-generating power of the postage stamp. Some countries will do almost anything to sell postage stamps, especially to hoarders or collectors, who in turn will never use them. This represents a nearly 100% profit for the postal administration. In the last 35 years, there has been a growing number of scratch and sniff stamps being issued. From the first smelly stamp through to the most current olfactory offering, the use of scratch and sniff stamps are a novelty that are becoming more and more prevalent. Below are Brazil's scratch and sniff coffee stamp, Switzerland's chocolate stamp (which comes in a foil wrapped booklet), China's sweet and sour pork stamp, and Brazil's stamp that smells like a burnt forest, issued to increase awareness of forest fire danger' -- Stamps of Distinction
10.
Spiff, designed by Japanese model Mayuko Asano of the Elite modeling agency, is a clothing line that has incorporated “Scratch and Sniff” into their outfits. All of the products have a different natural scent, from suntan lotion to grapes. Their Spring 2009 collection is a Love Collection, the theme being “LOVE RULES”, with the scratch-n-sniff scent for the outfits being Romantic Floral.
11.
'Predicting the onset of mental illness could soon be as simple as smelling a scratch-and-sniff card loaded with the aroma of roses or a whiff of petrol. Scientists have taken the same technology popular in children's books and designed a test to help diagnose brain disorders before the onset of any symptoms.
'The test can be used for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia, as well as some illnesses affecting adolescents. The test was born in a University of Melbourne laboratory where researchers discovered a link between the illnesses and a poor ability to identify smells.
'To test their theory, they developed a set of 40 scratch-and-sniff cards and asked people to identify smells from a list of four possibilities, like coffee, roses, oranges and petrol. Professor Warwick Brewer, from the university's Orygen Research Centre, said the people who later went on to develop a brain disorder had demonstrated difficulty correctly answering more than half the questions.' -- News.com.au
12.
Chicago Cubs Watermelon Scratch-n-Sniff Cap: Scratch the watermelons embroidered on the visor of the New Era “Watermelon Smoothie” cap to release the scent. The underside of the bill is the dark red of a freshly carved watermelon and is decorated with seeds that when scratched exude the more sugary smell hidden in the watermelon's depths.
13.
'Another great British invention has been filed at the Patent Office. Benjamin Simon has made a dual-purpose toilet roll -- it also deodorises the air. Building on the technological advance that made scratch and sniff stickers possible, he has coated the inside of the cardboard inner tube with a substance full of capsules containing a perfumed chemical. When you pull sheets from the roll the holder bashes against the inner tube, releasing the smell.' -- Times Higher Education
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13 notable scratch & sniff things
1.
'"Scratch and sniff" cards impregnated with the scent of anhydrous ammonia could be distributed to Illinois teachers and other school employees to familiarize them with the smell of a key ingredient in making methamphetamine. The goal: to help educators and staff at schools and daycare centers ID children who have been exposed to meth. "Most people haven't smelled meth," which smells like cat urine, said bill sponsor Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (R-Chicago). "Not too many people know about this drug, and it's everywhere ... The teacher might say, 'How many cats do you have at home?' The student could say, 'We don't have any cats.'" Thus alerted, educators could inform police about their suspicions, leading to an investigation or a search of the child's home.' -- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
2.
'Here's another product from SolidAlliance. This iCool. It's an MP3 player with 256MB of internal memory and an SD slot and they smell like chocolate, roses, lemon, strawberry, raspberry, or blueberry. Rather, they smell like any other plastic container until your hand rubs against them in use. This triggers the sophisticated scratch and sniff technology, and the smell appears and grows stronger the more you touch the player. If you're interested, for a much higher cost, you can request a version with the smell of your choice and it will be custom made for you.' -- akihabaranews.com
3.
'For his 1981 feature POLYESTER, John Waters, a fan of tacky movie gimmicks, bypassed the complicated technology of Smell-O-Vision and relied on the low-tech (but more reliable) method of a simple scratch-and-sniff card. At certain points in the movie, a number would flash on the screen and you’d scratch and sniff that number on a card you were given before the show. I still have my card (signed by Waters when he visited my alma mater, Kent State, back in the mid 1980s), but the smells don’t work anymore. I do, however, remember to avoid scratching and sniffing No. 2 at all costs. If you get the DVD (which I think has some version of the card), I’d suggest you follow that advice as well.' -- The Movie Man
4.
'Heavy rock group THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERS are using the latest scratch-and-sniff technology to give their new album the whiff of rotting meat. The US trio's album, OLIDOUS OPERETTAS, will come with the aroma of decaying flesh. Frontman MORTON FAIRBANKS explains, "It will be a scented-face CD, which essentially means it will be scratch-'n'-sniff-able... Our CD will smell like rotten meat."' -- Fark dot com
5.
'Today, we had a county municipal court judge come to our high school to talk about driving laws and consequences. At the end of his talk, he gave all of us scratch and sniff stickers that say "underage driving stinks" and smell like vomit.' -- pianoforte, KCATM
6.
ScenTeck Technologies’ Scratch-N-Sniff Pro software and System Scent Card replace the standard vibrating sound waves coming from computer speakers with unique vibrating tones that the brain recognizes not as a sound, but a scent. Hriful’s team developed a System Scent Card that reacts to normal auditory sensors generated from a computer’s hard drive. These sensors, once triggered, are combined with Hriful’s proprietary Scent Waves, and then broadcast from computer speakers, replacing the standard vibrating sound waves with a unique vibrating tone.
7.
DigiScents Inc. in Oakland, California, created the iSmell scent synthesizer. You insert a scent cartridge into the iSmell, which is connected to a computer or video game console, and it releases the scent in short bursts at appropriate times, i.e. when you’re playing a first person shooter and get into a firefight, you’ll actually get whiffs of gunpowder as you fire rounds. PC World named the iSmell one of the 25 Worst Tech Products of All-Time.
8.
SCRATCH N SNIFF CINEMA February 2009, the UKs first Scratch ‘n’ Sniff Cinema for Valentine's Day: The UK’s first Scratch ‘n’ Sniff Cinema showing Peter Greenaway’s classic, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover opened for Valentine’s Day this year. Bompas & Parr created aromas including ‘rotting meat’ and ‘dusty books’ that captured the scent of key moments of Greenaway’s film. These aromas were micro-encapsulated and printed onto special scratch ‘n’ sniff cards for everyone in the audience.
9.
'There have been many attempts to improve the revenue-generating power of the postage stamp. Some countries will do almost anything to sell postage stamps, especially to hoarders or collectors, who in turn will never use them. This represents a nearly 100% profit for the postal administration. In the last 35 years, there has been a growing number of scratch and sniff stamps being issued. From the first smelly stamp through to the most current olfactory offering, the use of scratch and sniff stamps are a novelty that are becoming more and more prevalent. Below are Brazil's scratch and sniff coffee stamp, Switzerland's chocolate stamp (which comes in a foil wrapped booklet), China's sweet and sour pork stamp, and Brazil's stamp that smells like a burnt forest, issued to increase awareness of forest fire danger' -- Stamps of Distinction
10.
Spiff, designed by Japanese model Mayuko Asano of the Elite modeling agency, is a clothing line that has incorporated “Scratch and Sniff” into their outfits. All of the products have a different natural scent, from suntan lotion to grapes. Their Spring 2009 collection is a Love Collection, the theme being “LOVE RULES”, with the scratch-n-sniff scent for the outfits being Romantic Floral.
11.
'Predicting the onset of mental illness could soon be as simple as smelling a scratch-and-sniff card loaded with the aroma of roses or a whiff of petrol. Scientists have taken the same technology popular in children's books and designed a test to help diagnose brain disorders before the onset of any symptoms.
'The test can be used for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia, as well as some illnesses affecting adolescents. The test was born in a University of Melbourne laboratory where researchers discovered a link between the illnesses and a poor ability to identify smells.
'To test their theory, they developed a set of 40 scratch-and-sniff cards and asked people to identify smells from a list of four possibilities, like coffee, roses, oranges and petrol. Professor Warwick Brewer, from the university's Orygen Research Centre, said the people who later went on to develop a brain disorder had demonstrated difficulty correctly answering more than half the questions.' -- News.com.au
12.
Chicago Cubs Watermelon Scratch-n-Sniff Cap: Scratch the watermelons embroidered on the visor of the New Era “Watermelon Smoothie” cap to release the scent. The underside of the bill is the dark red of a freshly carved watermelon and is decorated with seeds that when scratched exude the more sugary smell hidden in the watermelon's depths.
13.
'Another great British invention has been filed at the Patent Office. Benjamin Simon has made a dual-purpose toilet roll -- it also deodorises the air. Building on the technological advance that made scratch and sniff stickers possible, he has coated the inside of the cardboard inner tube with a substance full of capsules containing a perfumed chemical. When you pull sheets from the roll the holder bashes against the inner tube, releasing the smell.' -- Times Higher Education
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