Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2012, and its prices, about 11 euros for a reusable patch and 25 euros for a pack of 10 disposable ones, and its product details are from that time.
Business ideas should meet some kind of need, and the inventors of Flatulence Deodorizer (patches that hide the smell of flatulence) have set out to solve one of humanity’s possible problems. The patches are placed inside your underwear and, if anything escapes, they turn the bad smell into a more pleasant one, such as pine, mint or lavender.
The TV shopping ad goes something like this: “Tired of feeling uncomfortable because gas builds up and you can’t let it out during a meeting, a job interview or a date? That’s no longer a problem: from now on you can release that awkward gas without drawing attention, thanks to Flatulence Deodorizer.”
The invention is undoubtedly original and innovative, although it raises a few questions, such as the change of smell itself. Before, if you were in a group of people and a bad smell reached you, you knew exactly what had happened. But now, if it suddenly smells of mint or lavender, I imagine someone would say something like: “Mmm, that smells nice. Where’s that lovely smell coming from?”
The product comes with an effectiveness guarantee, so supposedly you can try it without fear. I should point out that although it hides the smell (supposedly, as always), it doesn’t muffle the noise, so you’d still have to be careful with the louder ones.
There are two price options. On one hand, there is the reusable patch at about €11 each; I don’t know how long it can be reused. On the other, a pack of 10 disposable patches costs €25.
Will we end up seeing this product on supermarket shelves? Would customers feel the same embarrassment people felt 20 years ago when buying a box of condoms? Anything can happen. What we can see is how some people manage to make money even out of human gas.
In any case, I’m sure some office workers have already used these patches on specific occasions, or kept them for emergencies during a long meeting. So if a scent of pine, mint or lavender drifts by in a meeting and nobody has used an air freshener, it might be a Flatulence Deodorizer 🙂
Source: 20minutos.es
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Featured image: Olga Khomitsevich, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
