The Power of Olfaction is Awesome

The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the most powerful sense of them all for both humans and animals. It enriches your experience of the world around you. Different scents can change your mood, transport you back to a distant memory, and may even help you bond with loved ones.

Scents go straight to the brain's smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.

Interesting Facts About the Sense of Smell

* Researchers from Macquarie University in Australia found that people with psychopathic tendencies have a poor sense of smell.

* Hyperosmia is an overwhelming sensitivity to smells.

* Some people naturally have a more agreeable scent due to their unique body chemistry influenced by genes.

* Multiple hormones can affect your sense of smell, including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, leptin, and ghrelin.

A True Story About the Power of Smell

Meet Joy Milne, a Scottish woman with a rare condition called hyperosmia that gives her an exceptional sense of smell. 

She can detect Parkinson's disease, tuberculous, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer by smell. 

Can you imagine? It proves some humans do have the ability to detect diseases with their sense of smell. 

I recently posted a story about rats in Southeast Asia who can detect tuberculous faster than lab technicians. Thus far I've discovered that there's numerous animals with extrasensory smells that can detect a host of sicknesses.

For decades individuals and businesses have explored ways to harness the evocative power of smell. When I was growing up in the 1950s, we had AromaRama or Smell-O-Vision, in walk-in theaters. They infused the theaters with appropriate odors in an attempt to pull viewers deeper into the story.

People do tend to lose their sense of smell as they age. But don't worry. Your nose is like a muscle in the body that can be strengthened by giving it a daily workout, not with weights, but with sniffs. The more you use your nose, the stronger it gets according to a Harvard study titled, "What the Nose Knows." 

In praise of smell Helen Keller once said, "Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived."

As it Stands, I found out how to stop a skunk from smelling. Are you ready? Hold its nose.