Of our five sense it's really smell that's makes or break things and yet it seems to be mostly underrated compared to something like sight. Scientists have shown that smell is closely associated with memory thanks to the olfactory bulb being being part of the limbic system. All it takes for some people is a whiff of some familiar smell to recall a specific memory in a way that can be more powerful than looking at a photograph. The whole thing makes me wonder if it's possible that certain smells have built in specific meanings to us.
Apparently it's been determined that the smell of death is universal. All species instinctively recognize that smell. This came from researchers discovering that cockroaches tended to avoid places that had other dead cockroaches because of the smell of death. So for them it was a kind of warning that the place might not be safe. Death smells like danger. It's kind of the same reason shit smells bad to us, because it's full of bacteria that is potentially harmful to us. So the smell is a sort of warning for us to avoid it. Same thing with the smell of death and putrefaction. For us it's a warning that there is danger because when the human body breaks down it becomes poison. Now in nature the smell of death may mean different things. To a lion or a vulture it means there is potentially food near by. For a zebra though it could serve as a warning that in that direction is danger.
The smell of death is a big one, but could it be possible there are other smells that are hardwired into our brains? If so, what purpose do they serve? I've known mothers who could pick their children out of dark room just by smell. I'm guessing that's something to do with a bond between mother and child that goes beyond just a physical thing, even though the child was technically a part of the mother at one point. I've heard that it extends to adopted children as well, meaning that it's not strictly limited to biological children. Something in our brain adjusts itself to recognize offspring, regardless of biology.
Ever notice that you could doing something and suddenly smell food and your stomach starts to rumble? Up until that point you weren't even aware that you were hungry. The moment that smell hits your nose you're body prepares itself for food, even if you're not actually going to eat because the smell is coming from the next cube over. It may seem obvious that the smell of cooked food makes us hungry, but why? Our brain recognizes the smell as something that seems appetizing. Is that based on past experience or is that regardless of our culinary history? Do vegetarians ever smell something cooking and their body reacts with hunger until they realize that it's stir fry cooked with chicken instead of tofu? Everyone has seen some situation where a person in a movie eats something, comments on how good it tastes, only to discovery that it's something normally thought of as unappetizing. Rocky Mountain Oysters for example. At that point our brain and our body are in conflict with each other because the smell makes us think of food, but thanks to our upbringing we may not think bull testicles are supposed to be eaten.
It also makes me wonder if it's possible to alter our perception of what a smell signifies. For instance what would happen if someone was being tortured while the room was filled with the smell of fresh baked cookies. Would that smell forever be associated with pain? Essentially what was wired to be a pleasant smell for most people would only serve as a reminder of something terrible. What factors dictate when a smell means to us?
We tend to pass along our history in our genes. Hair color, poor eyesight, or increased risk of cancer all can be passed to the next generation. Hopefully along the way the stronger genes win out over the weaker ones, but thanks to medical advancements we're bypassing that. I've talked about evolution before. My point though if those other traits could be passed down, is it possible for our history of smell to be sent down as well? Before we used fire to cook our food, no one would have any idea that the smell of cooking meat was a good thing. Eventually someone figured that out and it became common knowledge to everyone after that point. If that was the case then the smell of something would be part of our evolution.
Technically speaking a smell is actually made up of microscopic parts of whatever it is that smells. So when you're breathing in a bad smell, you're actually taking in things you'd probably want to avoid. On the flip side when you're smelling something delicious, you're ingesting parts of it before you take the first bite. I won't even get into the various smells associated with sex because that could be a topic by itself (as sex tends to be). Although it brings up the point that if smell is made up of small parts of the larger object, then tiny pieces of us are floating around. On some occasions we run into someone that smells like home, for lack of a better term. Chemically speaking the other person smells like the perfect match for us. That could mean there is more to the whole idea of soul mates, which could be on multiple levels that we don't fully understand and can't quantify through traditional means. Once again it just shows that there are so many things going on that even when you smell something, it could be more than just good or bad, but something much deeper.
