Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Rhinarians, Unite!

Why would a woman stick her nose into a fishbowl?

Even though I was on my fourth cup of coffee, I glanced at the half-page ad in this morning’s Houston Chronicle and thought the headline (in 36-point type) said “Rhinarian.”

It’s actually an advertisement for Rhinaris, “your portable dry nose humidifier.” This product comes to us from Pharmascience, a company based in Montreal. (Canada again!)

How much it costs compared to my usual winter standby, Ocean? That’s $4.29 for 1.5 ounces at Walgreens. One ounce of Rhinaris is $6.99. The Walgreens generic moisturizing spray is just $2.99 for 1.5 ounces. With Rhinaris, you…pay through the nose. (I sent for a sample here – you should too, because it’s free.)

However, I do prefer the idea that Rhinarians walk among us. For years, I’ve envied wine experts who talk about the value of a “good nose.” There are professional smellers in the coffee and tea business, in the fragrance industry, in certain of the food segments. How about the overly sensitive relative to whom something always smells funny?

These are the Rhinarians. The lady above is smelling her fish. Why? To see if it’s fresh? To determine if it’s time to change the water? Do Rhinarians walk around with their noses in the air? Are they snooty?

Unite, Rhinarians of the World! Don't let society lead you around by the nose.

Photo from Pharmascience. All rights reserved, which is probably quite reassuring to them.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now, those folks who smell for a living are called "noses" and like "tasters" they have heightened senses.

Don't be a pretzel. They sell big bottles of saline nose spray at Sam's for even cheaper than the Walgreens generic.

Richard Laurence Baron said...

Two years later - my cousin Phyllis remembered this post and asked about it, so I looked it up. It's still silly. AND I never received my free sample, either. (What's up with that?)

As Susan Kirkland advised, I went to Sam's. No pretzel, me.