use Devel::Pointer; $a = 'Hello World'; $scalar_ref = \$a; print "Scalar Ref is $scalar_ref\n"; $what = unsmash_sv(0+$scalar_ref); print "$scalar_ref is actually >$what<\n"; __DATA__ Scalar Ref is SCALAR(0x1ab2734) SCALAR(0x1ab2734) is actually >Hello World<