5th Observation [audio // English]
Remy, Wall, the vanilla pods are ready.
[Fred's voice takes on a musing quality.]
A chemical called piperonal is a minor component of vanilla extract. It's fragrant on its own, is used as a perfume base and flavoring, and in the majority of humans, has a calming effect when its vapors are inhaled.
Piperonal is chemically similar to safrole, an extract of the roots of the sassafras tree. Safrole used to be quite popular as a perfume base and flavoring, as well, but then it was discovered to cause cancer in lab rats, and that was it for safrole.
Let me tell you: Everything causes cancer in lab rats. They're specifically bred for it. Leave a lab rat alone long enough, and the little ingrate will turn into a walking tumor. Give me a colony of lab rats and a vat of neutral saline and I'll produce data that show a statistically significant correlation between ingesting the stuff daily and cancer in rats.
[Fred just said he'd be able to "prove" water causes cancer in rats.
Piperonal and safrole are both MDMA (aka Ecstasy) precursors, but the only people who are likely to know that are chemists, law enforcement, and hardcore druggies.
Fred's either daring someone to stop him, or looking for help.]
...But as I was saying, the vanilla's ready.
[Fred's voice takes on a musing quality.]
A chemical called piperonal is a minor component of vanilla extract. It's fragrant on its own, is used as a perfume base and flavoring, and in the majority of humans, has a calming effect when its vapors are inhaled.
Piperonal is chemically similar to safrole, an extract of the roots of the sassafras tree. Safrole used to be quite popular as a perfume base and flavoring, as well, but then it was discovered to cause cancer in lab rats, and that was it for safrole.
Let me tell you: Everything causes cancer in lab rats. They're specifically bred for it. Leave a lab rat alone long enough, and the little ingrate will turn into a walking tumor. Give me a colony of lab rats and a vat of neutral saline and I'll produce data that show a statistically significant correlation between ingesting the stuff daily and cancer in rats.
[Fred just said he'd be able to "prove" water causes cancer in rats.
Piperonal and safrole are both MDMA (aka Ecstasy) precursors, but the only people who are likely to know that are chemists, law enforcement, and hardcore druggies.
Fred's either daring someone to stop him, or looking for help.]
...But as I was saying, the vanilla's ready.