11 Wonderful Facts about scent that you wish you knew

Many of us take our sense of smell for granted without a second thought about how the smell is made.

From the sweet bitter smell of that first cup of coffee to the gentle scents which reassure us we are home, we’re exposed to an endless tapestry of different smells every day – many of which have a significant impact on our mood and outlook on life.

To celebrate the wonderful organ which is our nose, here we’re sharing some of our favourite facts about scents and smells, some of them strange, some of them shocking.

Here are 10 wonderful facts about scents and smell:

1. HUMANS CAN DETECT AT LEAST ONE TRILLION DIFFERENT SMELLS

someone with a nice nose

Although the exact number is yet to be determined, scientists revealed in a 2014 journal that humans can identify at least one trillion different smells. It is thought that the actual number may be significantly higher than this, however, thanks to the 10 million smell receptors in everybody’s nose.

2. EVERYONE SMELLS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT

Our own smell is personal to us, and completely unique. How we smell is predetermined, and comes from the same genes which determine our body’s tissue type.

3. AND EVERYONE CAN SMELL SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY

We all have our ‘scent blind spots’, smells which we cannot pick up. This means that we all smell things differently, and the scents we enjoy are entirely unique to us.

4. IT’S POSSIBLE TO SMELL FEELINGS

Amazingly, our sense of smell is so developed it has been discovered that we can smell fear, disgust, happiness and even sexual arousal on other people. A 2012 study found that smell signals exist in our sweat, helping others empathise with us when we’re experiencing certain emotions.

We all have been there

6. OUR SENSE OF SMELL PEAKS DURING OUR LATE TEENS

Around 18 or 19 is when our sense of smell is at its peak. After this age, our sense of smell gradually declines.

7. AND DURING PREGNANCY

When pregnant, a woman’s sense of smell becomes heightened and hypersensitive. It’s thought that this heightened sense of smell could be the reason behind the strange food cravings of pregnant women.

8. ANIMALS HAVE FAVOURITE SMELLS TOO

Not so bothered about the freshly-baked bread, our animal friends each have their own favourite smells. Cats favour valerian, lions prefer mint and camels love tobacco. And your pet pooch’s favourite smell? You, of course!

Cats have favourite smells too

9. SMELL IS OUR MOST MEMORABLE SENSE

It has been discovered that we remember smells for much longer than sights, sounds, tastes and feelings. Amazingly, people can remember smells with a 65% accuracy after one year, whilst visual recall is only 50/50 after a quarter of the time.

10. SOME PEOPLE ONLY RECEIVE BAD SMELLS

We thought it was bad enough suffering from anosmia, the condition in which you cannot identify any smell, but that’s nothing compared to cacosmia. Sufferers of cacosmia will only detect disgusting scents, and even those traditional smells (freshly-baked bread et al) will smell like vomit or waste to these poor individuals.

We feel sorry who smell this as bad

11. AND GOOD SMELLS MAKE US HAPPY

Perhaps the least surprising fact about scents. If we smell something we find pleasant, it can have a positive effect on the mind and help to lift our mood. So, we believe it’s always a good idea to have a handy size TINY bottle of scent or oil diffuser to hand for when we need a little pick-me-up.

Helping you enjoy your favourite scents and smells, BOUTEILLE's range of scent which comes in 2 different sizes boast the finest fragrances.

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