被窗外的臭味熏得胃疼
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk
The best-known, most distinctive, and often most notorious feature of the skunks is the great development of their anal scent glands, which they can use as a defensive weapon. It is similar to, though much more developed than, the glands found in species of the Mustelidae family. Skunks have two glands, one on either side of the anus, that produce a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals (methyl and butyl thiols) that has a highly offensive smell that most people describe as a combination of the odors of rotten eggs, garlic and burnt rubber. The odor of the fluid is strong enough to ward off bears and other potential attackers, and can be difficult to remove from clothing. Muscles located next to the scent glands allow them to spray with high accuracy as far as 2 to 3 metres (7 to 10 ft). The smell aside, the spray can cause irritation and even temporary blindness, and is sufficiently powerful to be detected by even an insensitive human nose anywhere up to a mile downwind. Their chemical defense, though unusual, is effective, as illustrated by this extract from Charles Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle:
We saw also a couple of Zorillos, or skunks,--odious animals, which are far from uncommon. In general appearance the Zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running of the elbow. Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the "Beagle." Certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room for the Zorillo.[2]
Skunks are reluctant to use their smelly weapon, as they carry just enough of the chemical for five or six uses―about 15 cc―and require some ten days to produce another supply. Their bold black and white colouring however serves to make the skunk's appearance memorable. Where practical, it is to a skunk's advantage to simply warn a threatening creature off without expending scent: the black and white warning colour aside, threatened skunks will go through an elaborate routine of hisses and foot stamping and tail-high threat postures before resorting to the spray. Interestingly, skunks will not spray other skunks (with the exception of males in the mating season); though they fight over den space in autumn, they do so with tooth and claw.
The singular musk-spraying ability of the skunk has not escaped the attention of biologists: the names of the family and the most common genus (Mephitidae, Mephitis) mean "stench", and Spilogale putorius means "stinking spotted weasel". The word skunk is a corruption of an Abenaki name for them, segongw or segonku, which means "one who squirts" in the Algonquian dialect.
Most predatory animals of the Americas, such as wolves, foxes and badgers, seldom attack skunks―presumably out of fear of being sprayed. The exception is the great horned owl, the animal's only serious predator, which, like most birds, has a poor-to-nonexistent sense of smell.
Skunk spray is composed mainly of low molecular weight thiol compounds [3], namely (E)-2-butene-1-thiol, 3-methyl-1-butanethiol and (E)-2-butenyl thioacetat,[4] these compounds are detectable at concentrations of ~2 parts per million.
Removing the scent from objects or creatures can be difficult. Some home remedies suggest using tomato juice or vinegar. A more complex and effective remedy includes application of a mixture containing hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid soap.[5] The thiols, which are responsible for the odor, are not water soluble, even with soap, but the baking soda catalyzes the oxidative ability of the peroxide, which oxidizes the thiols into highly water-soluble thiolates. In an episode of the television program MythBusters, the hydrogen peroxide mix was found to be the most effective smell removal agent.[6]
From Popular Science Aug. 1995, chemist Paul Krebaum provided the recipe for the bathing concoction. One quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, one quarter cup of baking soda, and one teaspoon of liquid soap. Bath your pet in this solution and rinse with tap-water. Krebaum warned that there is no way to store this potion. "If you put the ingredients in a bottle, the whole thing would explode."
