I’ve never really been a cologne sort of guy, mainly because that’s just another thing I’d have to add to my morning routine and I think Speed Stick smells good enough. Still, I’ve often thought “if only I could sweat cologne, my life would be perfect.” Ok, so that’s a total lie, but it seems that Australian artist Lucy McRae actually had that thought about perfume. Not only that, but she didn’t immediately dismiss it like I would have.
No, she’s going all the way with this idea and is working with a synthetic researcher Sheref Mansy to develop a prototype. The idea is that after you take your Swallowable Parfum pill, your skin would act as an atomizer. As you sweat, you would sweat out some of this fragrance, and the stuff responsible for the actual smell would remain on your skin as the sweat evaporates. Basically you end up with the same effect as normal perfume, fragrance on your skin, except  instead of spraying it on the outside, you eat it and sweat it out. Completely intuitive, right?
As a bonus, I guess, everyone’s scent would be slightly different because it’s based in your natural body odor. In a way, it’s sort of a nobel attempt to change the idea that everything about your body smells bad and you need to cover that up. On the other hand, it’s still perfume, so it sort of attempts to change that idea.
Of course, there are a lot of question as to whether or not this is actually possible. It totally makes sense if you don’t know much about the digestive system but if you do, it gets a little more questionable. George Preti, a scientist at the Monell Center pointed out to ABC News that there are plenty of pills that claim to change body odor. Spoiler alert: they don’t actually work. It turns out the stomach is a pretty harsh place and getting stuff through there undigested is a serious challenge.
No telling when this pill might actually be “designed,” whether it’ll actually work, and whether or not it’ll be safe, but in some small way, it’s heartening to know that someone out there is trying to accomplish something so needless and insane. For the time being, you’ll have to just continue to coat yourself in chemicals instead of sweating them out. Bummer, right?
(via ABC News)
