Makes Perfect Scents…
Smells have been pushed forth into my consciousness quite a bit lately, whether it be on the way to work, the news, the radio, or home. If you think about it, smells are just chemical reactions that occur when microscopic particles briefly attach to equally microscopic receptors in your nose. Like the virus-fighting cells within your body, if a matching smell-receptor configuration is not found, you smell nothing, the reason a smelly chemical is artificially added to natural gas piped into homes and businesses.
NPR recently ran a brief news tidbit on Dale Air, a family-run business in Lancashire, England that offers packaged aromas and scents for sale. Their product line ranges from basics such as cherry, honeysuckle, lavender, and lemon to less-typical requests such as boiled cabbage, Thai curry, and chicken to the very “exotic” scents of boiler room, locker room, hospital, dentist, farmyard, flatulence, dragon’s breath, smelting, ship’s cannon, urine, swamp, and sweaty feet. Many of the more unusual aromas have been used to recreate historical settings including the smells of a Viking village museum in England, Antarctic explorer Robert Scott’s tent, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London.
Artificial smells are even used in treatment of Alzheimer patients with the hope of triggering forgotten memories. In my own kitchen lately, the smell of orange sherbet scooped out for dessert has triggered each time the multi-decade-old memory of going to Thrifty Drug Store on Los Gatos-Saratoga Road with my mom, usually getting a ten-cent scoop of orange sherbet that was always served in a peculiar cylindrical shape. The large triple-scoop was 25 cents.
People have often wondered why smell is so tightly associated with the taste of food. To me, it’s always been a no-brainer: it makes perfect sense (no pun intended!) that the brain be warned well in advance of taking a bite of rancid meat or rotten fruit. As bad as that smell may be, it’s far better than the sensations gained expelling that tainted meal.
“…the smells of a Viking village museum…” I wonder if it smells different than any other museum…
I share the Thrifty-Drug-peculiar-cylindrical-shaped-ice-cream memory with you, though my favorite flavor was the rainbow sherbert. Great post! I also wanted to say a delayed thanks for introducing us to Geocaching. It only took us 2 years, but we are truly enjoying it!