The uses of fart spray

I've been having trouble finding a book that will grab my attention, so I finally picked up something I knew I'd like—The Righteous Mind (2012) by Jonathan Haidt.

$1 at the Friends of the Library Book Sale

Also $1 at the book sale

Haidt's first book, The Happiness Hypothesis (2006), is one of my favorites, and The Righteous Mind literally picks up exactly where The Happiness Hypothesis left off. In the first part of The Righteous Mind, Haidt canvasses various experiments that support his first principle of moral psychology, which is that "[i]ntuitions come first, strategic reasoning second." The idea is that people stake out a position first, usually for intuitive reasons, before finding evidence to support that position, in a process known as confirmation bias.

One example of social intuitionism is found in a study showing that people's moral judgments are impacted by their sense of smell, which is obviously intuitive and not rational. The experimental design involved a Stanford grad student surreptitiously spraying a trash can with fart spray half of the time before stopping subjects in the vicinity of the can to have them fill out a survey. The participants who were surveyed next to the malodorous trash can made harsher judgments about the controversial issues they were asked about. My favorite part was tracking down the actual article that was published in the august Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ("Disgust as Embodied Moral Judgment") and reading this analytical description of the fart spray, including where the scientists procured it:

The fart spray (purchased at www.forumnovelties.com) consisted of ammonium sulfide in a water solution. When the solution is sprayed, hydrogen sulfide, a component of flatulence, is released alongside ammonia. The resultant odor is unpleasant but harmless at low levels.

I'm glad they cleared that up.

As cool as it is to use fart spray in serious scientific research, nothing beats incorporating it into a killer strategy for taking revenge on filthy porch pirates. If you haven't seen Mark Rober on YouTube (he has over 12 million subscribers), he's a mechanical engineer who quit his job at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (where he spent seven years working on the Mars Curiosity Rover) and is now making highly entertaining videos. After a freebooter made the mistake of swiping a package off Rober's porch, he channeled his inner Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin's character in Home Alone) and built the ne plus ultra of anti-porch piracy devices.

When the buccaneers open the fake packages, they get showered with a pound of the "world's finest glitter" and multiple doses of fart spray. The use of fart spray is doubly ingenious because it douses the pirates and the area where they open their faux booty with a hideous smell, which is not only funny but also encourages them to toss the high-tech packages, thereby increasing Rober's chances of recovering them through the GPS-tracking phones he employs for that purpose and to film the entire episodes for his, and our, entertainment.

Rober's first escapade using his "glitter bomb trap" was so popular that he made some upgrades in a second iteration, including adding a second bottle of even fouler smelling fart spray, which he tested with the help of Macaulay Culkin himself. When you're done with these videos, check out the squirrel ninja obstacle course that Rober built in his backyard.

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I really wanted to be clever and follow up the fart spray talk with a new recipe for Brussels sprouts, since they're high in chemical compounds that, when exposed to heat for too long, produce hydrogen sulfide, which is responsible for the fart smell that keeps Brad and Cass from even wanting to be in the house when I cook Brussels sprouts, much less eating them. But the recipe I tested was mediocre and not worth posting in addition to the one for Glazed Stovetop Brussels Sprouts, which is much better. Oh well, the best laid plans and all that.

Instead of Brussels sprouts, here is the recipe for Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew I mentioned in episode 297. I cut 10 to 15 minutes off the time by cooking everything with the cover on for 25 minutes in step 2 before removing the cover to finish up. It's still a bit of a project but worth the effort once in a while, especially for a meal that gets four enthusiastic thumbs up from the family.

Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

Adapted from Food52 Vegan (2015) by Gena Hamshaw and Food52

Time: 1:10

You can substitute 1½ teaspoons ground ginger for fresh in a pinch; if you use ground ginger, add it in step 2 with the other spices.

27 grams (2 tablespoons) olive oil
1 medium (~170 grams) yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated on a Microplane
1½ tablespoons fresh ginger, minced or grated on a Microplane (see note)
2 pounds/900 grams (~2 large) sweet potatoes, cut into ½-inch chunks
85 grams (½ cup) red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted, or 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
a pinch or two of cayenne pepper, more to taste
950 grams (4 cups) vegetable broth, more if needed
65 grams (¼ cup) creamy peanut butter
115 grams (4 cups) finely chopped or sliced greens such as curly kale or baby spinach
freshly ground black pepper
25 grams (¼ cup) scallions, green parts only, sliced on the bias, or chives
35 grams (~¼ cup) roasted, salted peanuts, chopped

    1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent but not browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and sauté, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
    2. Add the sweet potatoes, lentils, tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, salt, turmeric, and cayenne, and stir until the vegetables are coated with the spice mixture. Stir in the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover the pot and adjust the heat as needed to maintain a steady but not violent simmer. Cook, stirring a few times, until the sweet potatoes are almost cooked through, about 25 minutes.
    3. Remove the cover. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a steady simmer, until the sweet potatoes are tender (a paring knife should slip through the potatoes without meeting any resistance), about 5 to 10 minutes.
    4. Stir in the peanut butter until evenly incorporated. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender and working in batches if necessary), purée about half of the stew. It should be creamy but with plenty of sweet potato chunks still remaining.
    5. Return to the heat. Stir in the greens and cook until wilted and tender. Season with a few twists of black pepper, then taste for seasoning. Serve promptly, topped with the scallions and peanuts. Serves 4 to 6.