People,
It's all about context in this life I think.
Example: this morning I was on the train. It was hot and cramped and I felt slightly nauseated. Suddenly I smelled an old familiar smell - the smell of one's pee after one has consumed asparagus (unless they have the enzyme, I know).
Anyway, I can't tell you the number of times I have rejoiced at this smell when I've created it, laughing like a little schoolboy at the fact that my pee stinks. But when that smell hits you on the subway it's a whole different story. It was dis-gust-ing.
I started to look for the possible perpetrator, but in the end I was too grossed out and so I just turned up the ipod and tried to read about the Sudan in the Metro.
Damn.
Joe's referring to the commonly held misconception that only some people produce asparagus pee. I did some research on this a few years ago (god bless the InterTron) and discovered that this is, in fact, untrue. For years studies on asparagus pee relied on self-reports of asparagus pee production capacity (i.e. the "good" context joe mentions above). Unfortunately, this confounded the studies, because it turns out that it's not the ability to produce asparagus pee that varies from person to person, but the ability to smell it! Several more recent studies have confirmed that everyone produces asparagus pee, by having test subjects smell each other's, um, evidence (the "bad" context). Disgusting? Yes. But all in the name of science.
Excellent. Thorough and informed. Great response. -Pedro
I really should have proofread the above better. also you can't see the link. so here: http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon970115/skinny1.html
