Smelly socks are socks that have acquired a foul odor due to prolonged wearing on feet. Their odor, which is complex and remains the object of study, is a mixture of ammonia, fatty acids (in particular, isovaleric acid),[1] and lactic acid.[2]
Odorous socks are a strong attractant for some animals, including dogs and mosquitos. They have proven useful in controlling the behaviour of these animals.
Although the odour of smelly socks is often associated with feet, it arises independently of contact with human feet in various foodstuffs such as dairy products, cheeses, sausages and fish sauce, and is naturally present in several plants.[3][4][5][6] The smell has also been noted in building and automotive air treatment systems, where it is described as "jock socks odour" or "dirty socks syndrome".
Several technologies have been developed to incorporate materials into sock textiles which reduce or eliminate the strong smell.
- ^ "In Short: Taste & Smell". Johns Hopkins University. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ Kent Mensah (21 June 2010), "Smelly socks to fight malaria", Africa News, archived from the original on 27 June 2010, retrieved 7 July 2010
- ^ Stephanie Clark; Michael Costello; Floyd Bodyfelt; MaryAnne Drake (2008), The sensory evaluation of dairy products, シュプリンガー・ジャパン株式会社, p. 114, Bibcode:2009sedp.book.....C, ISBN 978-0-387-77406-0, archived from the original on 2023-02-04, retrieved 2021-12-04
- ^ Patrick F. Fox; P. F. Fox; Timothy M. Cogan; Timothy P. Guinee (2000), Fundamentals of cheese science, Springer, p. 220, ISBN 978-0-8342-1260-2, archived from the original on 2023-02-04, retrieved 2021-12-04
- ^ Yiu H. Hui; Y. H. Hui (2004), Handbook of food and beverage fermentation technology, CRC Press, p. 408, ISBN 978-0-8247-4780-0, archived from the original on 2023-02-04, retrieved 2021-12-04
- ^ Pham, A.J.; Schilling, M.W.; Yoon, Y.; Kamadia, V.V.; Marshall, D.L. (2008), "Characterization of Fish Sauce Aroma-Impact Compounds Using GC-MS, SPME-Osme-GCO, and Stevens' Power Law Exponents", Journal of Food Science, 73 (4): C268–74, doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2008.00709.x, PMID 18460121