# I wonder if that would work?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [May 10, 2020, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556 "2020-05-10T22:59:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/1 "2020-05-10T22:59:06Z")
Ever have a seemingly impractical idea and say to yourself, “Hmmm…I wonder if that would work?”
Mine? I wonder if you could make your own rubber chicken by spraying or painting a whole uncooked chicken with FlexSteel, letting it set, then removing the innards?
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/2 "2020-05-10T23:07:48Z")
Democracy. But obviously it’s impractical, the results would just be crazy.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/3 "2020-05-10T23:09:46Z")
If it is, there’s probably a You Tube video explaining how to do it. 😃
Rule 34a, for non-porn!
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/4 "2020-05-10T23:12:46Z")
I sprayed flex steel on a blown up balloon. When I popped the balloon it collapsed. Fail.
A rubber chicken could be a little flat. So it might work.
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### Author:  [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/5 "2020-05-10T23:21:10Z")
When I was a kid I had to take some nasty-tasting liquid medicine. Lightbulb moment! \*\*\* What if I wrap my tongue in plastic wrap, covering my tastebuds. No more icky taste. \*\*\* I nearly choked to death.
It was easier just to take my medicine to the bathroom, carefully measure the dose, then dump it down the sink.
StG
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### Author:  [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/6 "2020-05-10T23:30:14Z")
Doesn’t ozone kill virus’ really well?
And doesn’t our atmosphere need more ozone cause we dangerously depleted it?
I’m seeing a, ‘two birds, one stone‘, situation…
Now about implementation…:dubious:
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/7 "2020-05-10T23:36:29Z")
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> Democracy. But obviously it’s impractical, the results would just be crazy.
To make it even crazier… the Electoral College.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [May 10, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/8 "2020-05-10T23:44:20Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> To make it even crazier… the Electoral College.
Take the politics elsewhere, please.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/9 "2020-05-11T00:48:17Z")
I always have wondered if you could have a box with a bunch of scent molecules, and release certain combinations of molecules to make a particular scent (like mixing colors to make a new color) and have the box digitally controlled in order to make a “smell-o-vision” contraption for the Internet.
Either food advertising or porn is going to need to do this first. And they will.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/10 "2020-05-11T00:59:11Z")
I’ve always wondered if I can keep my arteries clear by having extreme high blood pressure. Sounds legit in theory.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/11 "2020-05-11T01:10:25Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> I always have wondered if you could have a box with a bunch of scent molecules, and release certain combinations of molecules to make a particular scent (like mixing colors to make a new color) and have the box digitally controlled in order to make a “smell-o-vision” contraption for the Internet.
>
> Either food advertising or porn is going to need to do this first. And they will.
I’ve thought the exact same thing.
I mean, the do the "smell-o-vison at Disney World. Why not with home theaters? Each movie could come with it’s own “Smell-O-vision” cartridge to emit the proper smells at the appropriate time.
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### Author:  [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/12 "2020-05-11T04:14:55Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> I always have wondered if you could have a box with a bunch of scent molecules, and release certain combinations of molecules to make a particular scent (like mixing colors to make a new color) and have the box digitally controlled in order to make a “smell-o-vision” contraption for the Internet.
>
> Either food advertising or porn is going to need to do this first. And they will.
Already been done, at least in literature:
“The scent-organ was playing a delightfully refreshing Herbal Capriccio - rippling arpeggios of thyme and lavender, of rosemary, basil, myrtle, tarragon; a series of daring modulations through the spice keys into ambergris; and a slow return through sandalwood, camphor, cedar, and newmown hay (with occasional suble touches of discord - a whiff of kidney pudding, the faintest suspicion of pig’s dung) back to the simple aromatics with which the piece began. They final blast of thyme died away; there was a round of applause”
From Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/13 "2020-05-11T04:58:24Z")
Turns out John Waters’ “Polyester” wasn’t the first movie to use smells, in his case “Odorama” cards, which you would scratch and sniff when a number flashed on the screen.
This story explains a little more.
> **[ODORAMA- John Waters’ “Polyester”](https://interactivemediaarchive.wordpress.com/odorama-john-waters-polyester/)**
>
> by Briana Phelps In 1981, cult film director John Waters released Polyester, staring Divine as Francine Fishpaw. Polyester featured homage to Smell-O-Vision originally released in 1960 with the fil…
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/14 "2020-05-11T05:16:48Z")
Ok cool but I’m not talking in fiction or using cards. I’m talking digital transmission of data that automatically make the aromas happen, in real life.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/15 "2020-05-11T10:48:36Z")
If scent turns out to be a combination of only a few types of sensors in the right combinations, then it would be completely doable. Whereas if it is thousands or tens of thousands of individual scents I’d think it would be impractical.
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### Author:  [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/16 "2020-05-11T13:07:58Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> I always have wondered if you could have a box with a bunch of scent molecules, and release certain combinations of molecules to make a particular scent (like mixing colors to make a new color) and have the box digitally controlled in order to make a “smell-o-vision” contraption for the Internet.
The money would be in the refills, of course: and how long would the customers put up with the cost and faff of replacing them for the sale of a passing pong?
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/17 "2020-05-11T13:09:05Z")
> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> If scent turns out to be a combination of only a few types of sensors in the right combinations, then it would be completely doable. Whereas if it is thousands or tens of thousands of individual scents I’d think it would be impractical.
How does [400](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_receptor) strike you?
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/18 "2020-05-11T13:29:38Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#):
>
> Turns out John Waters’ “Polyester” wasn’t the first movie to use smells, in his case “Odorama” cards, which you would scratch and sniff when a number flashed on the screen.
>
> This story explains a little more.
>
> [ODORAMA- John Waters’ “Polyester” – Interactive Media Archive: Collaborative Multimedia Resource](https://interactivemediaarchive.wordpress.com/odorama-john-waters-polyester/)
The article mentions that the original Smell-o-Vision had some timing issues, some parts of the theater would get the scent before others, and would be out of sync with the film.
Waters, on the other hand, had the timing down perfectly. One scene I remember was Tab Hunter presenting Divine with a bouquet of roses. They flashed the number on the screen (#9, apparently), you found the number on your card in the dark movie theater, scratched it and held it up to your nose – just as Hunter swapped the roses for a dirty old pair of sneakers.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/19 "2020-05-12T02:31:54Z")
> [@StGermain](#):
>
> When I was a kid I had to take some nasty-tasting liquid medicine. Lightbulb moment! \*\*\* What if I wrap my tongue in plastic wrap, covering my tastebuds. No more icky taste. \*\*\* I nearly choked to death.
>
> It was easier just to take my medicine to the bathroom, carefully measure the dose, then dump it down the sink.
>
> StG
We recommend chilling it (for at least a few minutes, if it’s a drug that can’t be refrigerated) or mixing it with Hershey’s Syrup, or both for that matter.
Conversely, I had a medicine that tasted so good, my parents had to put a chart on the refrigerator so I wouldn’t ask both of them for my next dose. I had no idea what it was until I did rotations, and opened a bottle of Gantrisin Suspension and knew instantly from the smell what it was.
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### Author:  [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wonder-if-that-would-work/853556/20 "2020-05-12T06:13:49Z")
Late to the thread, but I want to go back to the OP: is there a reason for making your own rubber chicken? Are there situations in life where a mass produced rubber chicken doesn’t cut it? Is there a world of hand crafted, hand painted artisanal rubber chickens out there that I don’t know about?
I hope the answer is yes.
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