So I've got some cheap Discworld paperbacks that were printed in 2003 as near as I can figure out.
When they were new, none of my pets ever had any interest in them. Once they aged to about ten years and began to yellow, every single pet I've owned has decided to chomp on them. So far the perpetrators are a rabbit, a dog (dog sitting and usually a very polite fellow), and two cats.
The rabbit makes me suspect whatever compound these books are giving off isn't something to do with meat.
I have other old books, but throughout the years only the Discworld cheap paperbacks printed by HarperTorch in the early 2000s is giving off whatever signal says "nibble on me".
So what's chemically going on?
Imgur links show my cat biting the corner of Monsterous Regiment, and the old nibbled off corner where Brigadier Bess the Bunny made her mark. https://imgur.com/a/y1IKwxY I put some fancy wrapping paper around the cover to hide the general deterioration and protect what remains of the covers from my fidgeting, the nibbling interest predates the cover so it's not that.
by Hereibe
3 Comments
Your pets have good taste.
As old books age, they release voc, like vanillin.
https://www.childrensmuseum.org/stories/why-old-books-smell-old
scientists have been able to pinpoint some of the scents. According to Compound Interest, “benzaldehyde adds an almond-like scent; vanillin adds a vanilla-like scent; ethyl benzene and toluene impart sweet odours; and 2-ethyl hexanol has a ‘slightly floral’ contribution. Other aldehydes and alcohols produced by these reactions have low odour thresholds.”
Soy-based ink.