New York Times Hires Smart Smeller

The New York Times has experts to provide critical analyses of foods and entertainment choices, so why not have a smell expert? Chandler Burr will be critically snorting perfumes and assigning ratings based on a four-star system, the more stars, the better. Burr's olfactory ruminations will debut in the August 27 publication of the NYT style mag.

While discussing this news with my insurance agent, I wondered what it would cost for Burr to insure his olfactory capabilities since he would be relying upon them to provide his livelihood. His response?

"Well, it depends on how near he gets to the newsroom. Surely, if Burr caught even a whiff of the stench coming out of the newsroom, his smell buds would explode. And, there's no insurance company in the world willing to write that policy."