On Fri, Oct 15, 2004 at 11:05:22AM -0700, Joel A. Erickson wrote:
From: "Dennis McCarthy":
I once heard a researcher talk about a man he found smelling manuscripts in a library. A conversation started where the man explained he was trying to trace diseases in European towns. A vinegar spray was apparently used at one time as an attempted disinfectant when papers where transfered between infected and uninfected areas. You shall never get a reproduced smell from microfilm, a page scan, on an e-book.
Is that "on an e-book" intended to be "or an e-book." If so, I'm not so sure about never being able to reproduce the smell. Not that I'm particularly keen on smelling books, but I've heard of working prototypes of scent devices activated digitally.
I do not know if there is an online source for this story, but have seen a printed copy and believe it is legimate. The story is that old books can develop mold or fungus. Sometimes this can be very light, and it might be between the pages (not just on the cover). Any preservation librarian can verify this fact. The interesting part is that the molds or fungi (or spores) have demonstrated psychoactive properties. In short, sniffing old books can get you high and/or cause hallucination. -- Greg