The Nose Knows

The sense of smell is as different as a signature kiss.

Most of us can smell something we are on top of, like lifting the lid of a pot on the stove and inhaling the aroma. Or driving along a highway and identifying the strong scent of a skunk. Or trapped inside a crowded subway next to someone who detests good hygiene.

My husband has the faculty to detect the lingering odor of a mouse fart. Not that he has ever smelled one, I am just making the case that he has the most amazing sense of smell of anyone I have ever known. I mean this as a complement. From outside in the detached garage he senses something cooking in the kitchen. From the bedroom he opens his eyes that follow in the wake of his nose and can describe what I am doing based on what he smells. I've been impressed with his sensitivity for smell as well as audio. I have allergies that may prevent me from reaching his level of perceiving odors. I like the house to have lingering cooking smells. It's homey and cozy.

I had already written this post when I found this article in Scientific American about a study to do with sense of smell.

"When the human nose sniffs, odors travel up the nostrils and into the brain. This happens separately on the left and right sides of an impervious wall in the nose called the nasal septum. So what happens when each nostril is exposed to a different scent? Does the brain interpret it as a mixture, or does it select between them?"

According to this article, The sense of smell is a "very youthful sense" and with deterioration in smell, taste is also lost. "[The sense of smell] affects quality of life."

I venture to state that if the study had participants with a nose like my hubby, the outcome of the study would have been different.