Shell game

摘要

Smell is a powerful sense, and it's one we don't get much opportunity to talk about with regard to cars anymore. Gone are the days when new Korean interiors reeked of a sickly vanilla stench that threatened to outlast the warranty. Cabin filters block outdoor smells effectively, and even diesel burns so cleanly there's nothing to whiff from the tailpipe. So most anything you smell in a modern car was probably produced or brought in by the occupants-like smoke, body odor, or that half-eaten tuna-salad sandwich a radical braking and acceleration maneuver relocated to beneath the passenger seat last August.rnRecent miracles of modern chemistry promise to prevent even these self-inflictedrnaromas from establishing a permanent funk, and the source of the wondrous new chemical (chitosan) is a most unlikely one-crustacean shells.That's right, stinky discarded exoskeletons of underwater bugs like shrimp, crab, lobsters, and crayfish may soon help stink-proof your seat covers and headliner. These unlikely scent-inels build their carapaces out of a chemical called chitin, a long-chain polymer made of glucose derivatives.