Inspired by the Ripper thread, the HP unit

[Superman]

As a Ripperologist, I feel it is my duty to explain to you about Hobo Power.

See, everything basically has a unit of measurement. We have ounces, gallons, degrees of temperature, etc., but we don't have a unit to measure stank. That where the HP, or Hobo Power, comes into play.

Hobo Power, or HP, is basically a scale from 1 - 100 that measures stench. For example, an average fart would probably be around 10 - 15 HP's, while cat piss would probably be around 30 HP's. 50 HP's however, will always cause a puke reaction, so that should give you an idea of how this scale works.

Of course, using the scale of Hobo Power, we can also dabble intot the realm of the purely theoretical. Absolute zero HP's, for example, could probably never be achieved. Maybe when you go into space naked before you explode... that could be absolute zero HP. Anyway, the other end is 100 HP's.

So that's the HP scale.

[Sebastin]

On a serious note:

There actualy is a unit to quantify smell: the Olf. (From Olfactory sense)

IIRC 1olf is defined as the body odor of a clean man who takes 0.6 showers a day and a whole lot of other clarifications. Heavy use of perfume can reach a level of 40 to 50 olf to give some scale. It´s used a lot in perfume development and a variety of psychological research.

[Superman]

Bah, obviously the HP unit is much more effective.

[The Kernel]

Superman, have you taken your Thorazine today?

[Sebastin]

Bah, obviously the HP unit is much more effective.

Well, it´s different in that it also measures the "pleasentness" of a smell while the olf only measures intensity and is therefore unsuited to predict a specific reaction. 50 olf may be the maximum achievable by bathing in perfume and therefore unpleasant no matter what the smell actualy is, but there is probably still a great difference in reaction to 50 olf roses or 50 olf rotting corpse.

Also HP sounds cooler. The company might object though

PS: Why did i just have ideas flashing through my brain involving the creation of a comic book character called olfman whose superpower results of a bite from a radioactive skunk? Probably sleep deprivation. Need more caffeine.

[IndustrialNoise]

I've known about HoboPower for ages, thanks to a radio show I listen to on which Adam Corolla's on. Him and the other host have had many long conversations about HP. Funny stuff.

[Superman]

I thought my friends and I came up with HP. Bah, I'm still using it!