| Back | Ichor (EYE-core), petrichor and vellichor |
|---|---|
| Front | Ichor is the stuff that was said to flow in the veins of the Greek gods in place of blood; Petrichor is the distinctive and pleasant smell that can accompany rain falling on ground baked dry. Vellichor is the distinctive and melancholy sight and smell of old books, redolent of dust and decayed hopes. [From petro- (rock), from Greek petros (stone) + ichor (the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology). Coined by researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas.] "Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain." - Matthew Bettelheim; Nature's Laboratory; Shasta Parent (Mt Shasta, California); Jan 2002. "But, even in the other pieces, her prose breaks into passages of lyrical beauty that come as a sorely needed revivifying petrichor amid the pitiless glare of callousness and cruelty." - Pradip Bhattacharya; Forest Interludes; Indianest.com; Jul 29, 2001. |
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