Olfactory Fact #9: He Patented Little Bottles of…Love Potion #7108872

Dr. Alan Hirsch, founder and neurological director for Chicago’s Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, is named on U.S. Patent #7108872, for “use of odorants to alter blood flow to the vagina, and article of manufacture thereof,” including “a mixture of licorice-based and banana nut bread odorants, a mixture of licorice-based and cucumber odorants, and a mixture of baby powder and chocolate odorants.”

Olfactory Fact #81: Your Nose Knows Multi-Tasking!

Humans, like most vertebrates, actually have two distinct olfactory systems - including the main olfactory system for smelling ordinary scents and the accessory olfactory system, which detects substances such as pheromones.

Olfactory Fact #717: You Can Cover Your Nose But Your Insurance Won’t

Anosmia - the complete inability to perceive odor - is not classified as a medical disorder in the US like vision and hearing defects.

Olfactory Fact #64: You Smell Worse Every Day

By the age of 20, your sense of smell is only 82% as acute as when you were born. By the age of 60, it has dropped to 38% and, by 80, it is only 28% as sensitive as at birth.

Olfactory Fact #425: When Life Hands You a Lemon, You Eat More Pizza

A study conducted at a pizzeria in Brittany, France showed a 20% increase in sales when the scents of lemon and lavender were diffused.

Olfactory Fact #103: Autumn Makes You Smell Bad

Our sense of smell is strongest in the spring and summer, thanks to the additional moisture in the air.

Olfactory Fact #152: Bad Weather Makes You Stinkier

Low barometric pressure, which occurs naturally just before a storm, causes volatile fluids like perfume to spread from a person’s body into the atmosphere more quickly.

Olfactory Fact #226: Stinky Feet are Aromatherapeutic

The age-old “shoe smell” treatment for epileptic seizure, still in practice in some developing countries, may have some basis in scientific fact; in temporal seizures with secondary generalization, strong olfactory stimuli can halt the progress of a seizure.

Olfactory Fact #246: The Celeb-Scent Biz Began With Liz!

The first celebrity to launch a signature scent - a trend which now accounts for 23% of the Top 100 Women’s Fragrances - was Elizabeth Taylor, whose White Diamonds remains a top-seller.

Olfactory Fact #97: One Smell Makes You Larger and One Smell Makes You Small

The scent of cucumber alters spatial perception to make an area seem larger, while the scent of roasted meat creates the illusion of closer quarters.

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