Salicylaldehyde be prepared from the corresponding phenol by the Duff reaction, or by treatment with paraformaldehyde in the presence of magnesium chloride and a base. Salicylaldehyde was identified as a characteristic aroma component of buckwheat. It is also one of the components of castoreum, the exudate from the castor sacs of the mature North American beaver ("Castor canadensis") and the European beaver ("Castor fiber"), used in perfumery. Furthermore, salicylaldehyde occurs in the larval defensive secretions of several leaf beetle species that belong the subtribe Chrysomelina. An example for a leaf beetle species that produces salicylaldehyde is the red poplar leaf beetle
Castor and Pollux regarded as helpers of humankind and held to be patrons of travellers and of sailors in particular, who invoked them to seek favourable winds. Their role as horsemen and boxers also led to them being regarded as the patrons of athletes and athletic contests. They characteristically intervened at the moment of crisis, aiding those who honoured or trusted them. Ancient Greek authors tell a number of versions of the story of Castor and Pollux. Homer portrays them initially as ordinary mortals, treating them as dead in the "Iliad" ("... "there are two commanders I do not see, / Castor the