2016-04-14

[public] 575K views, 10.0K likes, dislikes audio only

MinuteEarth

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If you liked this week’s video, we think you might also like this blog post about asparagus pee: http://bit.ly/1TOEBHZ

FYI: We try to leave jargon out of our videos, but if you want to learn more about this topic, here are some handy keywords to get your googling started:

Asparagus: a delicious, edible plant

Odor: a smell, aroma

Gas chromatography: a scientific technique used to separate and analyze compounds

Sulfur: a yellow chemical element with the symbol S

Asparagusic Acid: a sulfur containing compound present in asparagus

People featured in this video:

- Marcel Proust

- Benjamin Franklin

- John Arbuthnot

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Thanks to our supporters on https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth :

- Today I Found Out

- Maarten Bremer

- Jeff Straathof

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- Jagdtiger

- Alberto Bortoni

- Valentin

- Nicholas Buckendorf

- Antoine Coeur

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Credits (and Twitter handles):

Script Writer: Rachel Becker (@RA_Becks)

Script Editor: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida)

Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar (@eversalazar)

Video Director: Emily Elert (@eelert)

Video Narrator: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida)

With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Omkar Bhagat, Peter Reich, David Goldenberg

Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder

Image Credits: Purple, white and green asparagus - iStock.com/PicturePartners

Viceroy Butterfly - Wikimedia user PiccoloNamek

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viceroy_Butterfly.jpg

Eggs and Asparagus - Michelle Hooton (used with permission)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/_hoot/8636916522

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References:

Eriksson, N., Macpherson, J. M., Tung, J. Y., Hon, L. S., Naughton, B., Saxonov, S., . . . Mountain, J. (2010). Web-Based, Participant-Driven Studies Yield Novel Genetic Associations for Common Traits. PLoS Genetics PLoS Genet, 6(6). Retrieved from http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000993

Mitchell, S. C. (2001). Food Idiosyncrasies: Beetroot and Asparagus. Drug Metabolism & Disposition, 29(4), 539-543. Retrieved from http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/29/4/539.full#ref-62

Mitchell, S. C., & Waring, R. H. (2014). Asparagusic acid. Phytochemistry, 97, 5-10. Retrieved from http://www.silae.it/files/Asparagusic acid.pdf

Pelchat, M. L., Bykowski, C., Duke, F. F., & Reed, D. R. (2010). Excretion and Perception of a Characteristic Odor in Urine after Asparagus Ingestion: A Psychophysical and Genetic Study. Chemical Senses, 36(1), 9-17. Retrieved from http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2010/09/27/chemse.bjq081.full.pdf

Waring, R. H., Mitchell, S. C., & Fenwick, G. R. (1987). The chemical nature of the urinary odour produced by man after asparagus ingestion. Xenobiotica, 17(11), 1363-1371. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00498258709047166