This week is National Fragrance Week, so here are 10 things you didn't know about the sense of smell:
Just as there are a handful of basic tastes, scientists have identified seven basic smells: musky, putrid, pungent, camphoraceous (mothballs), ethereal, floral and minty. It is thought all scents are a mixture of these.
That said, humans can identify at least one trillion different smells. Our noses have 10 million smell receptors. We can smell fear, disgust, happiness and even sexual arousal on other people, thanks to pheromones in sweat.
This is pretty pathetic, though, when compared to what many animals can do. Dogs, for example, have about 44% more smell receptors than we do and can pick up even more smells, and from further away.
Women have a more developed sense of smell than men, and it varies depending on where they are in the menstrual cycle. The human sense of smell peaks at around the age of 18 or 19, and starts to decline after that.
Sense of smell also varies with the seasons. It's easier to detect aromas in the Spring and Summer than in the Autumn and winter, because of seasonal variations in humidity. We're also better at identifying smells after exercise, which may be because we're more likely to exercise in spring and summer, or it may have something to do with sweat. There's even a variation throughout the course of a day – our sense of smell is weakest in the morning and increases as the day progresses. Incidentally, when we're asleep, our sense of smell switches off.
The favourite smell of people in the UK is freshly baked Bread. Roses, vanilla, Lavender, Lemon and scented Candles were other favourites. Scientists have managed to figure out which scents some animals prefer. Cats like valerian, lions mint and Camels apparently love the smell of tobacco.
Smell is the first sense to develop. Babies in the womb have a fully developed sense of smell. Smell is also strongly linked with memory: an old familiar smell can bring the memories flooding back. The smell of Crayons is one of the earliest memories many people can bring to mind. We're better at remembering smells than any other sense. People can remember smells with a 65% accuracy after a year, whilst visual recall is only 50/50 after about three months. This might be because smell works differently to other senses. With other senses, the brain identifies the stimulus and then reacts. With smell, the emotional reaction comes first.
We probably evolved that way, as a means of identifying danger, such as food that had gone off or the smell of a predatory animal. Today, a smell which warns of danger is the smell of gas, suggesting a leak. However, natural gas is actually almost odourless. The rotten egg pong of escaping gas is actually a chemical called tert-Butylthiol, added to the gas supply for safety reasons, so we'll know when there's a leak. Another evolutionary use of smell would have been selecting a mate. Early humans would have been able to sniff out sickness and/or a good immune system. Male and female reactions to smells has also been suggested as part of the reason for sexual orientation. Studies have found that gay men react to odours in the same way to straight women, and Lesbians react the same way as straight men.
Despite being able to detect trillions of smells, we're not great at describing them. There are plenty of unique terms to describe what we see and hear, but when it comes to smells, we generally resort to saying that something "smells like" something else. The inability to smell is called anosmia.
The scent cells in our noses are renewed about every 28 days.
Character birthday
Adriana Tate, a woman who lives in Sprawling, Innovia in the Infinitus dimension. She and her husband were unable to have children of their own and so adopted a baby boy who they called Nathan. He grew up to become the superhero Power Blaster. Adriana was one of the few people who knew Power Blaster’s real identity and guarded it jealously. She appears in Secrets and Skies and Closing the Circle.
Secrets and Skies
Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.
Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.
Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.
Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.
Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.
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Closing the Circle
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