Dr. Devin J. Rose

and why I may never eat microwave popcorn again.  (Or theatre popcorn, either.)  There are a lot of attributes that I love about the man I married.  One of the first qualities that I ever noticed about him is that he is smart.  Especially in his field of study, which is food chemistry.  He is always amazing me with the random factoids he knows about the food we eat, and at times it amazes me that he is still willing to eat foods given what he knows.  (Granted, there are a lot of foods that he won't eat... but that's a different story.)

To give you an example of what I mean, let me share with you a conversation we had tonight.  If you have a weak stomach with topics related to diapers or if you really love popcorn, please disregard this post.

Amy, "You know, I've decided that Hanna's dirty diapers smell a lot like microwave popcorn."

Devin, "Well, that's because one of the major scent compounds in buttered popcorn and dirty diapers is the same thing."

Amy, "What? Seriously.  What?"

Devin, "I am serious.  Butyric acid is a major scent component of baby poo and it is also in buttered popcorn.  Along with diacetyl, butyric acid gives the popcorn it's distinctive flavor."

He went into much more of an explanation, including the history of buttered theatre popcorn and what they use to flavor their popcorn with these days, than I am going to post here, but if you are interested, just let me know.   
This is the chemical structure of butyric acid.

Devin assures me it is just the smell that is the same, the taste would not be at all similar, because the flavor compounds are different in popcorn and baby poo.  Rest assured on that.  (Devin also wants me to mention that baby poo will probably make you sick.  Do not eat it.)

And, just out of curiosity, have any other mothers noticed this similarity in smell?  I think I only noticed it because I haven't had microwave popcorn in years but I recently enjoyed a bag.  So I of course, smelled it then.  I also haven't changed a newborn's diaper in years, but I am recently enduring that as well, and am definitely smelling it...

Comments

  1. MamaBFebruary 11, 2010 at 9:54 PM

    I've always liked the old fashioned way of popping corn in a pan and using real butter. Now I can back up my chubby mama causing popcorn desires with solid science! Thanks Ames! Baby poop aside, I think I'm hungry ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. "M"February 11, 2010 at 10:52 PM

    When I was pregnant with Annibelle Peter wasn't ever allowed to eat popcorn because it smelled like dirty diapers to me. More like wet ones, but still, GROSS! Now I pop my own and it smells and tastes great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mimi CollettFebruary 12, 2010 at 6:02 AM

    I'm so glad you agree. I notice it ALL THE TIME. The Colletts are major microwave popcorn enjoyers, and I can smell it coming down from upstairs. And at first I kept checking Jill for dirty diapers, and then I started to notice that when there was the "fake-out" dirty diaper smell, there was also microwave popcorn. Well, I'm glad there is a reason for it. Devin is very smart. (And I love that he felt it necessary to add the bit about not eating baby poop. One of my friends did walk in to discover his son (in the short time of alone time) had discovered a way to open their diaper trash can and already had opened one and put poop in his mouth. Why why why do babies put EVERYTHING in their mouths?)

    ReplyDelete
  4. MJFebruary 12, 2010 at 9:03 PM

    Ok, first, I haven't laughed so hard in a LONG time, because had you NOT included that disclaimer, someone very well may have tried tasting baby poop. My husband is a Chemistry major himself, so I'm always hearing crazy factoids.

    I'm a fan of Kettle Corn and haven't noticed the smell, but next time I'll check!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ThanksGIVEaway

Image
This giveaway is now CLOSED. In a week we will find ourselves feasting with family and friends.  We will reflect on and share with each other the good things in life that we are grateful for.  And I think that's great, to give thanks. My heart lately though has been leaning in a slightly different direction, I've felt an emphasis on a different part of the name of next week's holiday.  My heart is filled with gratitude to people who have reached out in love, sympathy, and support when they see others in need..  Those who have voiced prayers, and kind thoughts and words on our behalf, and on behalf of people seeking comfort everywhere.  The people who have watched children, sent flowers, made meals, and done so much more to try and ease burdens.  And my thankful heart wants to GIVE back to these people, as a small way of saying Thank You. So today I present you with my ThanksGIVEaway.  You know those big fancy blogs that are sponsored by corporations and have big fanc
Read more

Come Take a Tour

Image
This is the longest post of all time, but that's because of all the pictures. So I know I shouldn't let myself get carried away since we still have the inspection to go, but... I feel like we've won half the battle, so I will show you pictures now. This backyard is one of the  main reasons I wanted this house.  It is on a corner lot, and it is really quite large.  It extends just as far off to the left.  Here you can sort of see the nice swingset we've inherited also, which Hallie will love as it has swings and a slide. This is the playhouse in the backyard.  It's about nine square feet inside, and has electrical set up and in the spring/summer you can tell it is landscaped.  My girls will be a little spoiled. This is the first thing you see when you walk in the house, aside from the stairs which you can barely see in the left corner.  It is a formal dining, but we may use it as a formal sitting room. This is the front door, with the stairs leading up (
Read more

Well, That Was Unexpected

I think it all really started on Monday afternoon.  My mother and I were talking about movies that we would like to see in the movie theater.  When my mom learned that my girls had not seen Frozen yet, she decided that was something we needed to do.  I looked up show times, and saw that Tuesdays are $5 movie days with free popcorn and the theater is right by my midwife's office.  The only showing we could go to was just after my appointment with her, and everything seemed to be falling into place just perfectly. We had a plan.  We were so excited about our movie date with the girls. But things don't always go according to plan, do they? Hanna got sick that night, and spent all day Tuesday asleep on the couch.  It seemed that our perfect plan was not going to happen. Little did I know that there were going to be far greater reasons for us to miss that movie. There we were, Tuesday afternoon, Hanna asleep on the couch, Heather asleep in her crib, my Grandpa knitting me
Read more