There are bananas, and then there are banana-flavored things. Laffy Taffy is my personal favorite, but Runts, Hi-Chews, and jelly beans also capture perhaps not this fruit’s essence but an idea of it.

Isoamyl nitrite (aka isopentyl nitrite or, incorrectly, amyl nitrite) is an alkyl nitrite ester that has several uses in medicine and chemical synthesis. The term “amyl nitrite” is also used to denote ...