Olfactory Fact #152: Bad Weather Makes You Stinkier
August 30, 2010
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
August 23, 2010
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!
August 9, 2010
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
July 28, 2010
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.
Olfactory Fact #406: Little Flowers can pack Prescription-Strength Power
July 13, 2010
A new study from Germany’s Heinrich-Heine University suggests that the fragrance of jasmine acts on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, which help to regulate over-excitement in the brain, similarly to such anti-anxiety drugs as valium.
Olfactory Fact #85: Mosquitoes Are Picky Eaters
July 4, 2010
Mosquitoes sniff out carbon dioxide and a complex variety of the 300+ odorants present in human sweat to choose the tastiest victims from up to 100 feet away.
Olfactory Fact #207: Sniffers Buy More Snifters!
June 29, 2010
When Finnish scent marketer Ideair tested five restaurants and bars using scented ads for specific liquor brands against five using identical but unscented ads, the result was an astounding 79% boost in sales at the scented locations.
Olfactory Fact #415: Natural Gas Smells Unnatural
June 20, 2010
When we say, “I smell gas!” - what we are actually referring to is a manufactured sulfur compound called ethyl mercaptan, which is deliberately added to odorless natural gas as an olfactory warning trigger.
Olfactory Fact #48: You Can’t Pick Your Nose Woes
June 13, 2010
Specific Anosmia, the inability to perceive a specific odor, explains why some people are unable to smell freesias while others are unable to smell skunks…and, no, they don’t get to choose.
Olfactory Fact #206: Scented Ads Make Cars Move Faster
June 7, 2010
When Mitsubishi’s ad agency OMD placed a leather-scented ad in two major newspapers, its Lancer Evo X sold out in two weeks, prompting a 16% increase in the auto giant’s annual sales in a market that was averaging a 20% decline.
