I have occasionally covered the topic of colours here, such as those of flowers and minerals, since it is at least possible to illustrate these using photographs or colour charts to illustrate the theme. But when Derek Lowe took a break from his remarkable coverage of the COVID pandemic to highlight a recent article on the active smelling principle in Vetifer oil[cite]10.1002/anie.202014609[/cite] I could not resist adding a tiny amount to his must-read story.