Smells like...

The curriculum I use is called Living By Chemistry. There is no textbook to speak of and it’s all based on activities. The kids are introduced to organic chemistry by smelling 15 different things. The point of the activity is for them to classify the smells as sweet, putrid, minty etc… Then the kids learn that smells are the result of specific functional groups. It’s actually a really great way to make o-chem less frightening.

It’s the first day of the Smells unit and I am doing the aforementioned lab….
“Aaron, here, have you smelled this yet?” I ask as I hand him a ziplock bag.
Aaron takes the bag, shoves his nose inside and his eyes light up with a mixture of shock and amazement, “Damn Ms.! That smells like pussy!”

Trying to keep a straight face, I manage to reply, “I’m sorry what?”
Aaron looks up at me with his big brown eyes, “I’m sorry Ms., that’s just what it smells like.”

At this point, part of me wants to say, “well maybe you should stop going down on girls with bacterial infections, you’re 15 for Christ’s sake!” But I don’t, instead I simply ask him if it smells, like anything else, “naw, Ms. just pussy….”

Well, Aaron, it was supposed to smell like fish.