Do you know Why Maximus Smells The Dirt Before Each Battle?
According to ScreenRant, the reason behind his famous dirt-smelling ritual before each clash connects Maximus to his home and to his family.
Tag Archives: smell
It is a well known fact that our sense of smell is processed in a deep-seated part of our brains, the limbic system, a place that also processes our memories and emotion.
Given the close connection of odours and memories it is therefore unsurprising that a whole range of smells from the good to the bad to the ugly (who is to judge anyway) can elicit a broad spectrum of emotions.
Smells are known to jog memories and nostalgia and it is these deep associated sensory memories that jog our emotional state.
According to psychologist Dr Elena Touroni:
‘The smell itself doesn’t have to be particularly pleasant in order to provoke a positive memory. It’s very common and we purposefully use it as a psychological strategy in therapy – especially for those who have experienced trauma or have emotional difficulties, for example,’ she adds. It’s more about the association, rather than enjoyment of the thing itself.’
What odd smells bring comfort to you?
The metro reports with some readers quoting some odd nostalgic driven aromas here
The start of spring holds a characteristic outdoors odor. It’s a bit of dirt, mixed in with sharp greenness and an unmistakable whiff of ozone. Its called Geosmin and our noses are so finely tuned to this organic compound, in fact, that according to Popular Mechanics we can detect it better than sharks can recognize blood.
Buuuuuut as it finally turns out, the source of this smell, its er not so romantic.
For the very first time, excited scientists at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the John Innes Centre, and Lund University have identified why this distinct scent has persisted: a mutually-beneficial relationship between a six-legged worm, known as the springtail, and Streptomyces, a type of bacteria commonly found in soil.
Springtails are attracted to the smell of geosmin associated with the bacteria which basically then hitches a ride on Springtails that spread their tiny spores.
-Ed
Detailed source here – https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a32065673/spring-smell-geosmin-soil-springtails/
In Seoul, the US Forces are carrying out random vinegar smell tests on its bases to screen people possibly infected with COVID-19, the military said, following reports that losing the sense of smell or taste could be an indication of virus infection.
According to the Army Garrison, those personnel who cannot detect the smell of vinegar will be further screened, adding that studies have shown that the loss of smell is an early indicator of possible infection.
Vinegar really? How about you level up and buy some dem Jars of Smells for y’all boys in green…no vinegar inside, but you will find a nasal challenge that will make your nose hairs curl!
-Ed
Reported From – https://m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2020040600900032
“Identifying asymptomatic carriers is absolutely critical in stopping the progression of the pandemic, I believe,” Professor Small says. “So if there is odour loss with some — even if it’s only a small percentage of people — identifying them as carriers would be significant.”
Losing one’s sense of smell isn’t like losing one’s car keys. When the keys go missing, you recognize the loss in an instant. But a person’s sense of smell can slip away quietly, over a period of time, without the person noticing it is going, going, going, until it is effectively gone.
Small and her pals agreed that a simple do-it-at-home sniff test, using common household items, would allow participants — the great mass of us — to start tracking their sense of smell. In this way, an asymptomatic carrier who feels like a million bucks, but notes a diminishing sense of smell one day to the next, could consider quarantining, ASAP, instead of carrying on until their olfactory sense disappears altogether.
Hence, says Small, the birth of the peanut butter sniff test. Peanut butter, so good on toast, and always a friend to jam, is a North American staple that stimulates the olfactory sense exclusively, unlike, say, ground coffee — a treat to inhale, no doubt — but a fragrance that fires both our sense of smell and the trigeminal nerve governing sensations like “pain and tickle,” which influence how one registers an odour.
As a control on the peanut butter, sniff-test participants are asked to breathe in a snout full of vinegar, another household staple, like coffee, that fires the trigeminal nerve. The big idea? If a subject is registering the vinegar, but the scent of the peanut butter is fading away, they can be confident their sense of smell is decreasing.
“If we find there is a trajectory of diminishing smell over days, we would be able to identify asymptomatic carriers, even before they were conscious of losing their smell,” says Small. “And in those, let’s say, five days, there could otherwise be lots of transmissions.”
And what if you have a peanut butter allergy? Ouch!
Check out TMB’s Jars of Smells… a box full of mysterious, randomised smells that help fine-tune your schnozzz. And who knows peanut butter might be one of the smells you might encounter!?
https://topmiddlebase.com/product/jar-of-smells/
-Ed
Originally reported on here – https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/heroes-of-the-pandemic-a-canadian-professor-has-a-peanut-butter-sniff-test-to-combat-covid-19
Gasoline is a chemical cocktail comprised of many ingredients
Chief amongst these is Benzene which is added to gasoline to increase octane levels whilst also giving gas its characteristic gassy smell.
Naturally a sweet smell Benzene is also quite pungent.
So getting to the WHY, there are 2 strong reasons WHY some people cannot get enough of the stuff:
1 – Emotion Says Sniffing on the gas is bringing back pleasant memories such as filling up the tank before heading out on a family road trip, or some excitement you may have had around a bike, a boat or even the plane.
2 – Science Says whiffing on the gas is firing up your mesolimbic pathway. What this means is that Benzene may be dancing on your olfactory nerve endings, resulting in a slight head tingle.
What is the true answer? Possibly a touch of both?
Vroom Vroom
Speaking of smells. Have a go at T/M/B Jars of Smells.
The ultimate tool for fine-tuning your schnoz. Play this as a game with friends, the expressions will be completely grammable.
Includes smells like Honey, Rain, Garbage, Gasoline, Chocolate & Fresh Cut Grass….a completely randomized set in every box guaranteed!
– Ed
Research Source – https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/why-some-people-love-the-smell-of-gasoline
A healthy (or unhealthy) sense of smell has always been likened to the ‘canary in the cole mine, alerting us to possibly underlying health conditions. It is no surprise that this human sensory tool is now being linked to the early identification of COVID-19
Along with fever, cough and shortness of breath – many coronavirus (COVID-19) patients report a temporary loss of their sense of smell. It appears that olfactory loss is significantly greater in COVID-19 patients compared to the loss that is often experienced during a cold, and less commonly, in non-COVID-19 influenza patients. In some countries, such as France, a patient who claims to have a sudden onset of olfactory loss will be diagnosed as a coronavirus patient – without even being tested. A similar approach is being considered in the UK. Based on this data, Weizmann Institute scientists, in collaboration with the Edith Wolfson Medical Center, developed SmellTracker – an online platform that enables self-monitoring of an individual’s sense of smell – for the purpose of detecting early signs of COVID-19 or in the absence of other symptoms.
Reported by – https://www.miragenews.com/self-monitoring-sense-of-smell-may-help-detect-coronavirus/
Doing it tough in Jamaica, do you have any similar situation?
“My fiancé and I have decided to live together during the quarantine period to reduce the amount spent on bills.
Please note that while we have gone out and spent time together before, we have never been in close contact for so much time before.
I’ve noticed that not only does he eat a lot of junk, but he passes a lot of gas, and his bowel movements are extremely foul smelling. He also has an offensive body and breath odour in the morning, no matter if he bathes at night.
he only ‘healthy’ food he will eat is callaloo. (A popular Caribbean vegetable dish!)”
Er…covid-19 may have just averted a very unpleasant (smelling) andforeverafter!!
Full piece here – http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/funky-quarantine-fianc-_190473
Roughly the size of a coconut, the durian fruit is green and spiky on the outside, with a soft flesh on the inside. It’s native to Southeast Asia, and its smell has been likened to “turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock,” “hot poop garbage” and “gasoline.” In some places, durians have been banned on airplanes, trains and mass-transit – and for good reason. Their smell isn’t only overwhelmingly potent, but it lingers too.
Durian is certainly an acquired taste. Despite the pungeant smell, the custardy flesh actually tastes sweet
More – https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-durian_n_7111232
Losing your sense of smell is called Anosmia. Our sense of smell has a significant impact on what we taste.
“It’s like eating a box of tissues,” Chloe Donovan explains. “You only get texture and temperature.”
Smell is a human early warning system, it prevents us from putting bad things in our mouths amongst another things.
Donovan says she once “nearly set my kitchen on fire” when she accidentally turned the toaster on while putting groceries down on the kitchen counter.
It was only after her son got home from school and smelt something burning that they discovered a blackened loaf of bread on top of the toaster.
Read more:
‘I live in a world behind glass’: life without a sense of smell
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/when-chloe-fell-backwards-she-had-no-idea-what-she-d-really-lost-20200122-p53tpn.html