You Can Thank 150 Different Compounds For The Sweet Smell Of Bacon

There's nothing on Earth like the smell of bacon cooking, especially when it's being prepared by someone else and it's the weekend. Put a pan of bacon on, and everyone suddenly gathers in the kitchen. We've even known vegetarians to cave in its presence, and mathematically-speaking, it makes everything better. But — why? What is it about the smell that calls us like a siren out of a deep sleep? Well, as our fellow nerds over at the American Chemical Society and the chemistry blog, Compound Interest, demonstrate in the pop-art video , it's the devious work of 150 volatile organic compounds coming together to do their thing.