Petrichor

You're back on Nights.

Petrichor.

It's just a satisfying word to say.

Introduced by, uh, a couple of Australian chemists in nineteen sixty-four, Isabelle Joy Bear and Richard Greenfell Thomas, describing the distinct earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil or rock, petrichor, and one of those beautiful words.

Hello.

This is Mike Miller from Madison, Wisconsin, and my wife and I were watching Sandra Bullock as a guest on, I think, Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show, and she was asked what she likes to do, and she said, "Oh, you know, I love to go out and walk, uh, just before it rains or during the rain or after the rain to, you know, to get a sniff of the petrichor." And my wife and I looked at each other and went, "Petrichor? You know, what in the world is that?" And, uh, so what happens is, uh, she explained what it was, you know, the pretty much the scent in the air may- very earthy, maybe, you know, decomposing leaves or, uh, earthworms or whatever, and that she just loved that smell.

And being an old, uh, being an old fart, I always have to have a memory trick, so I, I kept coming up with the word petrified.

I'd go outside after a rain and I'd go, "Now, what was that word? It was, uh, Petra something.

Petrified.

Yeah, that was it.

Petrichor." So what is the origin of petrichor?

Oh, wow.

So our producer is asking about petrichor.

You know that nice smell after it rains or when you go through the woods that has like a sweet smell? Sure.

Petrichor.

It's a pleasant earthy scent that fills the air when rain falls on dry rock.

Oh, it's the actual word for that sweet smell in the woods that you were talking about.

Go on.

It's called petrichor.

Petrichor.

And it

means the ethereal fluids from the gods.

Yeah

... was so appropriately titled Petrichor.

Yes.

And it's such an interesting word.

Education.

Do you know what petrichor is? No.

Petrichor, your word of the day, is the earthy, pleasant scent that fills the air when rain falls on dry soil.

I love it.

I love that.

Don't know the answer.

No, I did not read up on it.

What's the word again? Petrichor.

So, here comes rain this week.

Maybe we'll get a little bit of a whiff of Petrichor and Geosman.

And now that you know those two words, you can impress your friends and influence people.

I'm just saying.