What is that smell? Why are smells important?
Smells are correlated to our emotional responses. This could be beneficial to cultivating positive interpersonal interactions and learning.
Smell can bring a flood of memories, influencing moods and even work performance.
Since we encounter most new odors in our youth, smells often bring childhood memories. The most memorable smell tied to childhood is crayons.
Although sensitivity generally declines with age, pleasant fragrances have been found to have positive effects on mood in all age groups.
People can remember smells with 65% accuracy after a year. The sense of smell is the first of all our senses to develop; we can smell even before we are born.
A woman’s sense of smell is much stronger than a man’s.
Smells peak in our mid teens, then gradually declines.
You can smell things better in the spring & summer, due to additional moisture in the air. Additionally, this means smell after exercise is increased.
Your smell accounts for 75-95% of the flavor impact.
Popular smells were either related to nature, home cooking, or special influential people. A research study done on smells found that limes, grapefruit, bergamot, orange, and peppermint were the top five smells. Forums online have the top favorites as: melted chocolate, warm cookies, baked bread, vanilla, honey suckle, rainy day, and old books.
Activities for Your Classroom/Project Group
Resources
http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/smell3.htm
http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_emotion.html
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/20-fascinating-facts-sense-smell-1977351
http://shareranks.com/1819,Favorite-Smells
http://io9.com/5515453/scientists-discover-five-things-that-smell-good-to-nearly-everyone