Hawaii, islands of enchantment and natural beauty. It is also the location of the largest mountain on earth when measured from base to peak: Mauna Kea. And perhaps more interesting, Hawaii is also home to Kilauea, an active volcano, and a prime tourist destination. In between eruptions (the most recent in September of 2024} the volcano regularly dispenses a noxious blend of sulfur dioxide (match stick) and hydrogen dioxide (rotten eggs) from its “digestive tract.” Step near and the nose hairs in your nostrils will curl.
This gaseous blend is a “tell” that the volcano is ready to blow. Turn back the pages of the calendar to 79 CE and eavesdrop on what’s happening in Pompeii’s forum. A small group of citizens gathered and schmoozed amiably, when the conversation was interrupted, “OK, who cut one?” Oh, yes dear Romans, time to pack your belongings!
It’s not different today. Step into a crowded wood-panel lined elevator in Saks Fifth Avenue when Margery Thompson-Allen squeezes in. After the door shuts and the elevator begins its ascent the effects of her lunch, which included a Cosmo, a fried pork schnitzel and side of garbanzo beans & broccoli in a cheese sauce, finally kicks in. Aren’t you lucky! Sharing a packed elevator with a human Vesuvius! Perhaps it is a revelation that ladies, and even ladies who dwell on the Upper East Side, can produce world class farts.
Maybe it was being trapped in an elevator inches from “ground zero” that prompted a chemist from Pfizer to see if there was a remedy that could be created. It probably took a bit of time before the idea of taking on the fart, as it was known in the early days, to gain traction. But it did within the R&D team at Preparation H (owned by Pfizer). The suppository section sought help from Europe’s preeminent perfume house, Givaudan in Vernier, Switzerland to help devise a masking scent that could be employed in suppositories to overcome the hydrogen dioxide (rotten eggs) scent.
After several test trials with the Yankee Candle Company, “Scent Solutions” is ready for a full product roll-out. The Floor Manager at Yankee Candle’s flagship location in Deerfield, MA has noted the early success of the suppositories available in their most popular fragrances: Balsam & Cedar, Sage & Citrus and Bahama Breeze. Their in-store signage features an image of a pine forest and text, “Break Wind with Confidence. The Perfect Stocking Stuffer!”
BREAKING NEWS: Preparation H is in negotiation with Nina Ricci to add “L’Air du Temps” to the Scent Solutions fragrance line. Won’t Mrs. Thompson-Allen be a happy camper!