Hunger as a Fragrance

Fat dripping onto hot coals, the charred sweetness of beef—you’re walking somewhere and then you’re not, because a neighbor has their grill going and you weren’t invited and now nothing else matters. Wherever you were heading no longer counts. The only relevant fact is that somewhere nearby there are burgers and you don’t have one.

American barbecue sauce brand A1 looked at this problem and decided the correct response was to make it permanent. Their Meat Scent candle smells, when lit, like freshly cooked hamburgers. Not a vague "smoky" note marketed with a wink. Like actual burgers, apparently, in your living room, all day.

I don’t know who this is designed for, but it must be a committed masochist—someone who genuinely wants to spend an evening smelling like a fast food counter while being unable to eat anything. Light it at your desk. Light it in the bedroom. Wait as your brain sends increasingly urgent signals your body cannot answer. I’d give myself maybe thirty seconds before I was eating the wax.