The Stinky Science of the World’s Smelliest Fruit

Learn about the shocking prevalence of torture scenes in movies; why durian, the world’s smelliest fruit, smells so bad; and where mold comes from.

Torture is prevalent and effective in movies (but not in real life) by Kelsey Donk

• Torture Prevalent, Effective in Popular Movies, Study Finds – University of Alabama News | The University of Alabama. (2020). Ua.Edu. https://www.ua.edu/news/2020/01/torture-prevalent-effective-in-popular-movies-study-finds/ 
• Delehanty, C., & Kearns, E. (2019). Wait, There’s Torture in Zootopia?: Examining the Prevalence of Torture in Popular Movies. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3342908 

Scientists discovered why durian is the world’s smelliest fruit by Kelsey Donk

• A Love Letter to a Smelly Fruit. (2013, December 3). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/travel/a-love-letter-to-a-smelly-fruit.html  
• Discovering what makes durian stink. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/lfla-dwm022820.php  
• Identification of an Important Odorant Precursor in Durian: First Evidence of Ethionine in Plants. (2019). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b07065  
• Maninang, J. S., Lizada, M. C. C., & Gemma, H. (2009). Inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme by Durian (Durio zibethinus Murray) fruit extract. Food Chemistry, 117(2), 352–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.03.106  
• Ethanethiol – American Chemical Society. (2020). American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/molecule-of-the-week/archive/e/ethanethiol.html 

Where does mold come from? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Tim)

• USDA FSIS. (2013). Molds on Food: Are They Dangerous? https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/a87cdc2c-6ddd-49f0-bd1f-393086742e68/Molds_on_Food.pdf?MOD=AJPERES 
• Stradley, L. (2016, April 5). Food Molds – Are Molds Dangerous. What’s Cooking America. https://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/Mold.htm 
• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (2019). BAM Chapter 18. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/laboratory-methods-food/bam-yeasts-molds-and-mycotoxins 

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