18 October 2011

Sniffin Sticks

Before I had sinus surgery in Germany in 2009, I had to go through some tests. Everything on the list looked perfectly German except for one suspiciously different item:

Sniffin Sticks

Sniffin sticks? Ha. They were exactly that--sticks that were held up for me to sniff and identify. But how funny that they couldn't come up with their own German version of that name. And even funnier to me is the fact that they left off the G. Did someone just write it the way they heard an English-speaking person say it, dropping the G? Or did some doctor feel witty as he gave it that official name? Or is it a typo? I'll never know. But it still amuses me.

4 comments:

  1. You're a good researcher, you should embark on a quest to get to the bottom of this!

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  2. Oh, but you CAN know the answer! I googled it on a whim, and it turns out that Sniffin Sticks is the brand name of the test they used http://www.nasalranger.com/media/41%20%20A%20Nasal%20Chemosensory%20Performance%20Test%20for%20Odor%20Inspectors.pdf

    See? Now you can ponder more important things, like social inequality and peace in the Middle East. You're welcome. ;-)

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