Wednesday, May 22, 2024

France has scratch-and-sniff stamps?

Via the New York Times

Joining the ranks of the screen goddess Brigitte Bardot and the Eiffel Tower, another French treasure is being celebrated with its own postage stamp: the baguette.

And this one is scratch-and-sniff.

The latest showcasing of French cultural heritage as Paris prepares to host millions of visitors for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, the new stamp features a cartoon image of a baguette wrapped in a tricolor ribbon.

It was unveiled by France’s postal service on Thursday — May 16, the feast day of Saint Honoré, the patron saint of bakers.

“The baguette, the bread of our daily lives, the symbol of our gastronomy, the jewel of our culture,” the usually not-flashy postal service raved in its description of its new offering...

...Thanks to scratch-and-sniff technology, it will also transport “bakery fragrances” to those lucky enough to receive a letter from France.

I suppose that it doesn't surprise me that there are scratch-and-sniff stamps, but I guess I would be curious as to which European flavorings company was given the contract to develop "baguette smell." 

(From the essential "Nose Dive" by Harold McGee, 'white bread crust' has the components of acetyl pyrroline, methylbutanals, methylbutyric acid, methional, diacetyl, furaneol, furfural and pyrazines.) 

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looks like Blogger doesn't work with anonymous comments from Chrome browsers at the moment - works in Microsoft Edge, or from Chrome with a Blogger account - sorry! CJ 3/21/20