the.com/smell
the only sense wired straight to memory before logic gets a vote
means To perceive an odor through the nose, or to give off such an odor — and by extension, to detect something amiss.
from From Middle English smellen, of obscure origin — one of those everyday words whose deep roots have gone quiet. It surfaces in English around the 12th century with no clear continental cousin; Old English seems to have preferred stincan (the ancestor of 'stink') and odor-words borrowed from Latin. Possibly related to a Low German or dialectal form meaning 'to smoulder' or 'glow,' as if scent were a kind of slow burning carried on the air — but this link is suggested, not proven. Honestly, where smell came from is itself a bit hard to sniff out.
- neuron count
- around 400 receptor types decode millions of scents
- memory link
- smells reach the brain's memory hub almost instantly
- unique signature
- everyone's body odor is nearly as individual as fingerprints
- rain smell
- petrichor comes from bacteria releasing geosmin
- fear scent
- sweat from fear can subtly alarm others nearby
durian fruit — banned on public transport in singapore and thailand due to its pungent odor
nidor — the smell of cooking or roasting meat, documented in medieval texts and modern culinary science
old spice original — iconic men's cologne launched in 1938, one of the world's best-selling fragrances
death valley usa — region in california famous for the smell of sulfur and minerals from geothermal activity