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I went off on another one of my peaceful projects. This time studying the vulgar odor of second hand smoke, … and I was surprised at the results I got with the cooperating weather conditions to help me.

I found a long building with a flat front (a strip mall) that had a light breeze flowing down the length of the front of the building.

Every day a woman who works here comes out at the same time to take a smoke break. Knowing this made this the perfect location for my study on the ‘vulgar odor’ of second hand smoke.

I positioned myself about 40 feet downwind from where she will come out and stand. I kept my back turned in that direction so my study wouldn’t be influenced by the ‘visual’ presence of her coming out the door.

In just a matter of moments, while I was looking the other way and leaning on the newspaper box in the light breeze, it happened. I was smelling the second hand smoke of a smoker about 40 feet away from me. I turned around for confirmation of the smell, and sure enough she was standing there smoking outside the store she works in. Part one of my peaceful study was complete so I went back to my vehicle and waited nearly 40 minutes before getting what I wanted, ‘a vehicle with a V-8 to park outside that door and idle’.

Forty minutes later a Tahoe pulled up in front of the door, opened it’s back door and went inside while the truck was idling. ‘PERFECT’! I went back over to my spot by the newspaper box and stood for about 4 or 5 minutes while the truck was idling just 40 feet upwind from me.

I could not smell the exhaust coming from the running truck. Keep in mind we’re talking about just the ‘vulgar odor’ detectable by the human nose, … not the poisonous gases that have no smell.

I wasn’t smelling anything coming from this truck’s tailpipe at 40 feet downwind.

Here is a comparison that will floor most people.

And it’s very true.

A human being has two lungs. This Tahoe has 8 cylinders, … which may equal four sets of human lungs. The Tahoe idles at about 600 rpm’s when the shifter is in park.

This means you have the equivalent of 4 sets of lungs inhaling and exhaling about 600 times per minute per each set. That’s 4800 inhales and exhales for the whole motor per minute. Something the human body and it’s two lungs could never ever do.

And it doesn’t create a vulgar odor like one person smoking. WOW! (holy smoke)

The truck is burning a petroleum fuel. The smoker is burning a dead plant wrapped in a piece of paper the size of your finger.

Which smell is more vulgar? Without a doubt, second hand smoke is more vulgar!

Although this study only focused on the vulgar odor of second hand smoke and that a motor vehicle wasn’t as guilty for noticeable vulgar odors at 40 feet, … please don’t neglect to realize that ‘both’, the second hand smoke as well as the vehicle emissions can be harmful and fatal to human beings.