For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

10 Weird Things We Can Smell

The things you can smell can actually surprise you a great deal. Human beings have a great sense of smell. However, we are limited by the social norms that a civilised society imposes on us. You can hardly go around sniffing like a dog without being made fun of or worse, considered insane. However, if only you would pay attention to the different types of smells around us, life would become much easier.

SMELLS THAT ARE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

OSHO says that we can actually smell our compatibility with another person. This basically means that if you relate to the smell of another person, you will be compatible with each other. Now that means 'smell' could be the deciding factor in a marital match. But imagine an arranged marriage situation and what would happen if you actually start sniffing your spouse to be. That is why; the things that you can smell are sometimes funny.

One of the weird things we can smell is our DNA. Humans are social 'animals' after all and we still have a natural animal instinct left in our genes. It is believed that we can smell a person who has DNA that is very different from us. This used to be the main way to eliminate incest when there was no family system or social rules against incest. It is a process of natural selection so that we can make healthy babies.

There are several other things that we can smell and some of these types of smells can be very strange. Check this list to see if you have ever smelled any of these strange things before.

You Can Smell Babies

You Can Smell Babies

Babies have their unique smell that is quite different from the fragrance of baby powder or lotion. Babies have sweet smelling skin that is partly due to their lack of strong hormones and partly due to the smell of breast milk.

You Can Smell 'Alertness'

You Can Smell 'Alertness'

Have you heard the phrase 'go and smell some coffee'? It basically means 'wake up'. Some smells can make your senses alert and coffee is one of them. Chocolate also has a strong effect on your senses.

You Can Smell 'Fear' & 'Tension'

You Can Smell 'Fear' & 'Tension'

'Smelling fear' is also a very famous phrase. When you are scared or tense, we usually sweat and that is one the ways in which 'fear' spreads. This was originally a mechanism by which human beings communicated fear to one another. This phenomenon can be observed in cases of natural disasters or human catastrophes such as bomb blasts.

You Can Smell Attraction

You Can Smell Attraction

When you are really attracted to someone, that person's 'smell' plays a key role in the attraction. You may think that you like his or her brand of fragrance but it is actually the smell of skin or flesh that draws you to another human being.

You Can Smell An 'Ovulating' Woman

You Can Smell An 'Ovulating' Woman

Many female species of animals use smell as a means to get a mate for reproduction. Human beings are not so different in this matter. Women emit a smell when they are ovulating that makes them seem irresistible to men.

You Can Smell Old Age

You Can Smell Old Age

When a person gets old, they start smelling different. It is hard to tell what distinguishes the odour of an old person. But the sweat and skin of old age is very distinct.

You Can Smell How To Make Babies

You Can Smell How To Make Babies

Nature is the best way to tell you how to have a healthy progeny. Scientists believe that we can smell people who have different genes from us and get attracted to people whose DNA is radically different from our own. A couple with different types of DNA makes healthier babies.

You Can Smell 'Unfaithfulness'

You Can Smell 'Unfaithfulness'

When you say that your spouse is being 'nosy', it can have a literal meaning. We know the smell of our spouse very well. So when our spouse or their clothes start smelling different, it means that they are cheating. That is why; some women smell their husband's clothes.

You Can Smell 'Blood'

You Can Smell 'Blood'

Blood has a very distinct smell that is hard to define. The iron in the blood makes it smell very strongly. Human beings can smell blood just like animals can but we usually do not develop this part of our senses because we do not hunt anymore.

You Can Smell 'Freshness'

You Can Smell 'Freshness'

You can smell someone and tell if they have just taken a bath. This is because clean and washed skin has a very 'fresh' smell. It is hard to fake that smell no matter how much deodorant or perfume you shower on yourself.

Story first published: Monday, June 2, 2014, 15:25 [IST]
Read more about: bizarre fragrance