A Study of the Factors of Age, Sex, Smoking and Blood Type in Relation to Taste Reaction to Phenylthiocarbamide
Abstract
Accidental discoveries have more than once effected progress in the history of science. The story of the chemical compound phenylthiocarbamide (commonly referred to as PTC) belongs to this category. In 1931, at the DuPont Laboratories, Dr. A. C. Fox and his assistant were conducting a chemical research project involving PTC crystals. A stray gust of wind blew some of the crystals into the air. The assistant complained of a bitter taste, but Dr. Fox experienced no taste reaction. The incident touched off a series of experiments concerning the relationship of PTC and similar taste compounds to individual taste discrimination. Fox (11) discovered that some persons tasted PTC as distinctly bitter whereas others have found it quite tasteless. Persons failing to taste the substance were termed "taste blind," following an analogous anomaly in color vision.
Subject Area
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Mc Aloon, Francis W, "A Study of the Factors of Age, Sex, Smoking and Blood Type in Relation to Taste Reaction to Phenylthiocarbamide" (1958). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI28673326.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI28673326
