You'd think that if you discovered the hands-down, bar-none best way for dealing with a pet who has been skunked, you'd be able to sell your formula for a tidy sum and be set for life, right? Unfortunately, that's not the way it worked for chemist Paul Krebaum who found just such a magic formula a few years ago. His only gain has been the incredible gratitude of pet lovers for his troubles.

First the formula, then the story.

Take 1 quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (available from any drugstore), 1/4 cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate for you science types) and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap (like what you wash your dishes with).
Mix and immediately apply with sponge to the stinky pet (being careful around the eyes). Rinse thoroughly with tap water.

The result is astonishing. Unfortunately, so will be the explosion if you made up the solution and then tried to bottle it. The merging of the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda creates lots of oxygen in a big hurry. This chemical reaction is key to how the solution works, but it's also fierce enough to explode in a closed container. Which is why Paul Krebaum hasn't capitalized on his discovery. There's just no way to sell something you can't put in a bottle. And it's a shame, too, because the man deserves some kind of reward. The stuff really works. Not like tomato juice, which dampens the odor a little but leaves you with a slightly less-stinky, pink dog that now smells like skunk and tomato juice! Commercial preparations seem to fare a little better, but even with them it's the passing of time that seems to finally do the trick.

But the hydrogen peroxide mix? Skunk be gone! The trick is the oxygen, which grabs the molecules that go into that horrid smell. Once snagged, the smell is neutralized. Simple chemistry, really.

Since Krebaum published his findings in a trade journal in 1993, his magic formula has spread far and wide, offered up by agriculture officials and hunting magazines, and touted by folks on the Internet. The Chicago Tribune gave him a good write-up in 1994 that got picked up by newspapers all over the country. In it, he called his mix a "free-gift-to humanity type deal."

It's not very practical to suggest that everyone who is grateful to Paul Krebaum send him a few bits to make up for some of the money he'll never make on his miracle skunk cure. So maybe it would be nice if you save this article for when you'll need it, and when you do, say a few silent words of thanks to the man who'll get you and your favorite buddy out of one stinky fix.