I recently read a novel where a person becomes very successful in the perfumery business. The principle reason for this being that his olfactory functions are far superior than the average person and he is able to clearly distinguish between the various perfumes.
I compare that to my own visit to the perfume sections of department stores. Within two three whiffs, the only thing clear to my smelling nerves would be the box of coffee beans the salesperson would smilingly thrust at my face. Fruity, citrus, flowery, musk - they all would intertwine into chaos ha ha
When it comes to sensory disabilities what usually gets a lot of attention is sight followed by hearing and speech. I wonder if there is anything called disability to smell. Definitely it wont be as debilitating as being blind or mute. Google tells me its called Anosmia. All of us have a slight experience with it when our dear old flu virus decides to attack us and our entire head feels like somebody just fit a balloon pump to it and is pumping away happily.
I have heard of a distant relative who loved the smell of inhalers and pain balms so much that he repeatedly used them and this led to a loss of the sense of smell. This seems harmless but on a deeper thought, it could be dangerous. Food I think would be a huge problem. Food is half taste and half smell. You would not know if your food has gone stale unless its clearly visible. You would not know if there is a gas leak.
I guess the only thing you might be able to smell is when you are in a situation where you smell something fishy!
I have read somewhere that if not for the sense of smell, an apple and potato slice would taste similar. So try biting into an apple and potato slice the next time you catch a cold and try to figure out if they feel the same!
I compare that to my own visit to the perfume sections of department stores. Within two three whiffs, the only thing clear to my smelling nerves would be the box of coffee beans the salesperson would smilingly thrust at my face. Fruity, citrus, flowery, musk - they all would intertwine into chaos ha ha
When it comes to sensory disabilities what usually gets a lot of attention is sight followed by hearing and speech. I wonder if there is anything called disability to smell. Definitely it wont be as debilitating as being blind or mute. Google tells me its called Anosmia. All of us have a slight experience with it when our dear old flu virus decides to attack us and our entire head feels like somebody just fit a balloon pump to it and is pumping away happily.
I have heard of a distant relative who loved the smell of inhalers and pain balms so much that he repeatedly used them and this led to a loss of the sense of smell. This seems harmless but on a deeper thought, it could be dangerous. Food I think would be a huge problem. Food is half taste and half smell. You would not know if your food has gone stale unless its clearly visible. You would not know if there is a gas leak.
I guess the only thing you might be able to smell is when you are in a situation where you smell something fishy!
I have read somewhere that if not for the sense of smell, an apple and potato slice would taste similar. So try biting into an apple and potato slice the next time you catch a cold and try to figure out if they feel the same!
Interesting post. Liked reading it. There are quite a few profession that are similar to "perfume smeller". For example, Tea Taster. His/Her job is to determine the quality of a particular tea. I am told a tea taster tastes 500 cups of tea every day. They just sip a spoon of tea from 500 cups.
ReplyDeleteScientists are working on a smellvision. When your TV shows Poori Masal is being cooked, your room will have that beautiful poori masal smell. Will take some years to come to the market.
you know smell is our strongest sense. It can bring back long forgotten memories. The human body and brain are amazing.....
ReplyDeleteinterestingly, smell is a sense that we do not acknowledge until we find it missing like when we have a cold or something like that....
Very interesting post . Worth sharing .
ReplyDeleteMy mother is has Anosmia. We really envy her when there is a nasty smell around that refuses to fade out!
ReplyDeleteBut just to save oneself from such experiences, I wouldn't want to have anosmia...the smell of the soil after the first rain, to me too dear! I cant imagine not being able to smell it!
A very light, fresh read!
------------------------------------------------
Anagha From Team MocktailMommies
Collage Of Life
People tell me I have very powerful nose!! See, I'm so gifted!
ReplyDeleteYou know there are people who love the smell of petrol, kerosene and stuff like that! I love the smell of rain on dry soil. Petrichor..
Shubhangi @ The Little Princess
Interesting post! That potato and apple thing... I must try sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI think your kid will have a hilarious time when she reads the topics (and posts) she gave you to write. Let me tell you that you are doing a fantastic job of writing such interesting posts on such random topics.
Where did my comment for N vanish? Is it awaiting moderation??
ReplyDeleteAnosmia! Ahaa had no idea! Interesting topic and post this was to read.
ReplyDelete