1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff from the Science Lab from how stuff 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Alright, Alison Neutron, A neutron walks into 3 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:19,639 Speaker 1: the bar, all right, and he asked the bartender for 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: a drink. Bartender says for you, no charge. Hey, I'm 5 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: Alison that the science how stuff Works dot com and 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: I'm Robert Lamb, science writer How stuff Works dot com. 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: And that joke came to us courtesy of listener Christian, Yeah, 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: he submitted on our Facebook page. Yeah, thanks Christian. I 9 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: like that one. That was a Some people might say 10 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: that joke was a stinker um, but but I mean 11 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: that's that's the great thing about cheesy jokes that they 12 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: kind of stink. And we're gonna be talking about a 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: number of things that stink, uh in today's podcast. Yes, 14 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: because we're talking about science and it's varied smells and 15 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: that's the name of the podcast. Smells like science. Yeah, 16 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: And don't run away because we're not This is not 17 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: going to be just a discussion of like how the 18 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: nose works or something. We're gonna we're gonna come at 19 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: it from a number of different angles. In fact, our 20 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: first angle we're gonna hit is outer space and how 21 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: doesn't smell. Well, Um, it's interesting. There's actually far more 22 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: data on this than I possibly imagined. Um. I don't 23 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: know if you've ever watched Futurama. I have, I've seen 24 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: episodes yet. Okay, well, there's a there's an episode, I 25 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: think a couple of different episodes where Professor Farnsworthy, ancient 26 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: um often naked mad scientists, pulls out this thing called 27 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: a smelloscope and it looks like a telescope except it 28 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: has these two nostril plugs. Just drapes his nose over 29 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: it and the plugs go up into the nostril, and 30 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: then he can smell distant regions of the cosmos. And 31 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: of course this is fantastic and ridiculous, but there's, like 32 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: I said, there's a lot of information out there. For instance, 33 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: space itself, according to some people who've smelt it has 34 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: an odor, all right, And this is not just people, 35 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: you know theorizing. This is coming from International Space Station 36 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: Science officer Don petite Um. And Don did not spell 37 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: smell the void directly. It's important to mention because he, 38 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,959 Speaker 1: you know, might be dead. Uh No, he was merely 39 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: opening the airlock. So a couple of his crew members 40 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: could come back in from a spacewalk, and he started. 41 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: Every time we do this, he would notice this peculiar smell, 42 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: you know. And at first he's like, it's just something 43 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: weird with the ventilation system, and he's probably thinking it 44 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: is it me, you know, do I smell kind of funny? 45 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: But no, he kept noticing that it was. It was 46 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: cleaning to the space suits in the gear, especially the fabrics, 47 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: and uh, I actould just read the quote and this 48 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: is this. He kept a little blog of his time 49 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: up there. He says, quote. It's hard to describe the smell. 50 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: It is definitely not the oldfactory equivalent to describing the 51 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,359 Speaker 1: the sensations of some new food as tastes like chicken. 52 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: The best description I can come up with is metallic, 53 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: a rather pleasant, sweet, metallic metallic sensation. It reminded me 54 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: of my college summers where I labored for many hours 55 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: with an arc welding porch, repairing heavy equipment for a 56 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: small logging outfit. It reminded me of pleasant, sweet swelling 57 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:11,639 Speaker 1: smelling welding fumes, that is the smell of space. So 58 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: aside from him seemed to have kind of a weird 59 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: thing about welding. Um. It also like it reminds me 60 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: of my cat actually because because like I pick up 61 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: the cat and like smell the cat, you know, I 62 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: mean not in like a sick way, you know, but 63 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: just kind of the cats there and you know, you 64 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 1: bury your nose in the fur. I totally get it. Well, 65 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: maybe not buried, but you know, it's like, you know, 66 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: she's there, you smell, and I always think, like, she 67 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: doesn't really smell like anything, maybe batteries. You know. It's 68 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: funny you say that because we recently went to the 69 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: Atlanta Zoo and we go a lot, you know, we 70 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: have kids, and I've always noticed a peculiar smell at 71 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: the gorilla exhibit, and to me, maybe it does have 72 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: a little bit of a metallic odor to it, but 73 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: it is a distinctly animal smell and it but it 74 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: does have a metallic kind of but not a monkey 75 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: house odor. No, no, no, no, not monkey house. It's 76 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: just it's just a funky kind of metallic. But back 77 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: to space. Back to space. Okay, well, all right, so 78 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: that's outer space itself. So from there, let's head to 79 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: the moon. And here you have a number of the 80 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: different astronauts who went to the moon, came back, and 81 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:17,119 Speaker 1: they had some some comments about especially how moon dust smells. Now, again, 82 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: they were not going out onto the surface of the 83 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 1: moon and sniffing moon dust, but but it's everywhere and 84 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: it gets all over you. And so they're coming back 85 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: into the in from their walk and it's you know, 86 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,039 Speaker 1: it's all over their stuff, over the equipment, et cetera. 87 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: So they end up sniffing it. They end up you know, 88 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: it's getting in their mouths and their nose, etcetera. And 89 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: so you had a number of different like a number 90 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: from Paulo seventeen astronauts that we're within the stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 91 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: that commented on it. One in particular, Yeah, Gene Cernan 92 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: said that it smells like like spent gunpowder, and a 93 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: number of the other astronauts backed him up on this, right, So, uh, 94 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: paula seventeen astronaut Jack Schmidt and held some of it, 95 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: and he said it gave him a few hours of 96 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,679 Speaker 1: hay fewer. Yeah, And when they asked him it was interesting. 97 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: Their as was like, did any the other astronauts have this? 98 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: And he said, well, they didn't say, they didn't own 99 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 1: up to it. So it's sort of like this, like 100 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: maybe that they had it too, but they didn't want 101 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: to say anything. Tough guy. Yeah, I'll astronauts are tough guys, 102 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: tough women in case maybe, well, yeah a lot of 103 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,160 Speaker 1: them were. Like the thing about the gunpowder is that 104 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: these were guys who knew their way around some guns. 105 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: This was not just a theoretical what gunpower. You know, 106 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 1: these were gun toting Americans, you know of of the 107 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: of the late sixties, early seventies. Well, the smell makes 108 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: sense in a way when you think about what moon 109 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:32,840 Speaker 1: dust is made of, right, because almost half is silicon 110 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: dioxide glass created by meteorites hitting the moon. So these impacts, 111 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:38,799 Speaker 1: which have been going on for billions of years, fuse 112 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: top soil into glass and they shatter into tiny pieces. 113 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: And it's also moon dust is also rich and iron, 114 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: calcium and magnesium. It's bound up in the minerals such 115 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: as olivine and pyroxy and so it's actually nothing like gunpara. Yeah, 116 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 1: it's but the impact thing makes sense to me. Yeah, 117 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: I mean it sounds plausible, Like you look like I didn't. 118 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:00,479 Speaker 1: I don't doubt it for a second. When they're like 119 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: hunt smells like gunpowder, up there all right, you know, 120 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: gray and dusty. But they said also some of it 121 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: comes from gases evaporating off the moon dust, and these 122 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: are gases that get there via the solar wind. So yeah, 123 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: the Moon is constantly exposed to hot wind, this hot 124 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: solar wind of hydrogen, helium and other ions blowing away 125 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: from the Sun. So so a lot of that gets 126 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: caught up in the dust as well. So we don't 127 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: really have a firm answer of why these guys found 128 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: it to smell this way, but you know, we we can. 129 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 1: There's some commentary on the various elements at play there. Well, 130 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: if I never get to the Moon at least have 131 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: a fuller sensory picture. Yeah, it makes it a little, 132 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: I don't know, stinkier. I don't know. The space thing 133 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 1: was really surprising because you just think of space itself 134 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: as being just kind of sterile, you know, right, totally 135 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: I do. So let's talk about some many other planets 136 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: out there and what their particular odors are. Yeah, well, Mercury, 137 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: of course, closest to the Sun and doesn't really have 138 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: much of an atmosphere at least not anymore very thin. 139 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: Most of it was US long ago and what remains 140 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: is mostly sodium, which doesn't really have a smell, So 141 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: don't expect to find mercury just by using your smaller scope. 142 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: What would you expect mercury to smell, like, just off 143 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: the top of your head. Well, being a fiery world, 144 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: you kind of expect to get this like a sulfury 145 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: hell smell, which is we're going to see you actually 146 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: do get a very sulfury sulfury hell smell off of 147 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: some of these other planets. I'm thinking mercury maybe like peppers, 148 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: you know, spicy food sort of smell like a curry, 149 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: like a nice planet planetary curry kind of odor. Yeah, 150 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: like super tied chili hot. You know, that's what I 151 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: would think that mercury might smell. Like. Moving onto venus um, 152 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: this is supposed to be a sharp, pungent smell, and 153 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: then onlike on rotten eggs. Do the clouds of sulfuric 154 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: acid which you were just talking about and mars that 155 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: similar In a similar note, they say, you know, there's 156 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: sulfur acids, magnesium, iron, put that all together in a 157 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: carbon dioxide rich environment, and it's going to probably reek 158 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: like rotten eggs. Hidding, Yeah, bad smelling solar system. We 159 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: have it. Yeah, it's it kind of sucks for the 160 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: first Mars colonists to get there, right, but they do. 161 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: They're just going to get used to it. So Jupiter, 162 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: it kind of depends on the layer what you're sniffing 163 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: on Jupiter, So the lighter zones would smell like ammonia, 164 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: then ammonia and rotten eggs, and then you pass through 165 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: hydrogen sulfa, then bitter almonds, which is gonna be your 166 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: hydrogen cyanide, and then and that's really cool because it's 167 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: like a lot of these planets have some more odors, 168 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: but this is like this rich bitter almondy poison center. 169 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of like it's like what a 170 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: bond bond or something, an enormous bon bon. But then 171 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: it's also got its moon. Io was kind of interesting 172 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: because it's highly volcanic, and guess what ye smells like 173 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: rotten eggs due to all the sulfur and the volcanic 174 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: eruptions satur and we're not so sure what it smells like. 175 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: But the moon titan Um, so it's haze covered over 176 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: nitrogen based atmosphere and a silled surface and a pungent 177 00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: odor reminiscent of a petroleum processing facility that's not very pleasant. Um. 178 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: And oh, and then of course there's there's uranus yea, 179 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: and the hydrogen and helium portions of the uranian atmosphere 180 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 1: are essentially scentless. And then there's that two percent methane content, 181 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: which I have to stress something here because we're also 182 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: gonna discuss another planet has some some methane content to it. 183 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,680 Speaker 1: There's this idea that methane is stinky out there purely 184 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 1: because of the methane component in various gases that um, 185 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: you know, come out of cows and humans, etcetera. Right, 186 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:45,719 Speaker 1: farts essentially, but it's important to note that that farts 187 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: also contain a number of other elements. All Right, these 188 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: tiny amounts of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, methane, hydrogen, sulfide, um, ammonia, 189 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: this is all mixing together and and this is this 190 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: is all a recipe for for bad odor. Methane on 191 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: its own is is not going to stink. Okay, So 192 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: so again you're in this nothing really smell going on there. 193 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: Same with Neptune, very similar environment. Yeah, but you know what, 194 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: that doesn't surprise me because I think of Neptune and 195 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: you're in a very similarly I feel like brothers in 196 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,520 Speaker 1: the Solar System. Yeah, I don't think of them as 197 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: having very different traits, you know what I mean? And 198 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: I know that's not true, brothers that hang out on 199 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: the outskirts of the Solar System. And then for all 200 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,440 Speaker 1: of you guys who bemoaned the lack of Pluto amongst 201 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: our Solar System, we do have some infra on Pluto, 202 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,559 Speaker 1: and that's a since it's such a thin atmosphere composed 203 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: mostly of methane, so you mainly got nothing going on there. Interestingly, though, 204 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 1: to be untrained, Iron knows, people would think, oh, but 205 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: Pluto's got methane. Um, you know, atmosphere, it's gonna suck. 206 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: You know, it's going to really stink. But it doesn't totally. Which, incidentally, 207 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: if I can run through this real quick, I did 208 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: run across, you know, all those different websites where people 209 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: ask quite random people have questions and random people answer them. 210 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: Somebody had asked the question like, what do the planet 211 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: smell like? And somebody had had replied and I and 212 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: these are completely not true, but they said the mercury 213 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: smells like refried beans. Venus smells like gasoline or smells 214 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: like unwashed socks, Mars smells like martians, Jupiter smells like 215 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: muddy dogs, Saturn smells like burnt paper. You're You're in 216 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: the smells like dead trees. Nepteine smells like a turtle, 217 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: and Pluto smells like quaw squab? What squab? Again? I 218 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: think it's like pigeon meat, like some sort of all right, right, 219 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: I think you're right, which, so anyway, I just found 220 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 1: that amusing. Yeah, so let's head back to the Earth 221 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: for a second and check out some of our planets 222 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: most pungent residents. Oh yeah, that's right, some animals and 223 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: plants certainly do put out an odor. Yeah, here on Earth. 224 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: And this section gave me a chance to revisit one 225 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: of my favorite articles on the site, and that is 226 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: why does the Stink Plants Think? And it was written 227 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: by a freelancer, Jonathan Attebury. So in the article, att 228 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,679 Speaker 1: Abury takes us back to eighteen seventy eight and he 229 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 1: imagines checking through the Launching rainforest alongside botanists Duardo Becari 230 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: his Italian. Yeah, and so, as the Italian is exploring 231 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: the forest, he gets a whiff of rotten meat. Next 232 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: thing he knows, the wind shifts and a stench floods 233 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:19,960 Speaker 1: his nostrils. The smell is very, very bad, symphony of 234 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 1: spoiled eggs, road kill, and dirty laundry. So imagine that 235 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 1: Beccari looks towards the source of the odor and behold 236 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: the stinct plant A. K. Tighten arum. And this is 237 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: a This is a great U time to do a 238 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,120 Speaker 1: quick Google search to see the image, or go ahead 239 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 1: and go to that article and look at the picture, 240 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: because it just looks bizarre. It's just enormous and it 241 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 1: kind of looks like a fountain and kind of looks 242 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: like something from the set of like Classic Star Trek. Yeah, well, 243 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 1: it's this massive plant sporting a massive pillar and it's 244 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: it is kind of phallic. Thus the scientific name a 245 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: morphox Phallus titanum or titanum. So the stinct plant is 246 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:00,960 Speaker 1: an inflorescence, and what does that mean. It's a it's 247 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: a group of flowers clustered around a central column known 248 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: as the spadix, and it's surrounded by this leafy structure 249 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:10,839 Speaker 1: called the space spath. And why does the corpse flower 250 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 1: smell so terrible. Take a guess, I mean to attract 251 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 1: in of course. And it's such a large plant that 252 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:19,959 Speaker 1: it can take a year or more for the plant 253 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: to store enough energy to bloom. So even then the 254 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: plant can only sustain its bloom for a couple of 255 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: days though. So it's it's you know, it's has this 256 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: really terrible smell, but it's it's fleeting. And because these 257 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: plants are located so far apart from one another and 258 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: they bloom, you know, on such an infrequent basis, they 259 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: want as much insect attention as possible, so they get 260 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: a whole bunch of like bees and beetles. They're crawling 261 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: all over and spreading the pollen around, right, yeah. Yeah. 262 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: And it's also interesting that scientists size that the overall 263 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: appearance and smell helped the plant masquerade as a giant 264 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: hunk of decaying meat. It does, it does look it 265 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,199 Speaker 1: doesn't look kind of fleshy. Again, you really need to 266 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: check out the article because it's it's hard to imagine. 267 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: It's it's it's like this giant pillar. Um, you know, 268 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 1: as long as your arm if you're to hold your 269 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: arm in the air right now. But even longer. I 270 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: think it can be maybe a couple of feet. Yeah, 271 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: the stink plant is by no means the only mellower's plant. 272 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: In fact, a whole group of them are called carryon flowers, 273 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: which is kind of an interesting name for a flower. 274 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: I mean that you don't necessarily go together when you 275 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: think about flower carryon carrying flowers. Yeah, we have a 276 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: we have a great botanical garden here in town um 277 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: and some lovely smelling flowers. I almost kind of want 278 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 1: them to put on like a carrion flower exhibit, you know, 279 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: just just you know, just so I can run through 280 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: real quick at least and sniff these and really the 281 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: full experience. Yeah, I have no doubt that would be 282 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: a big hit with the ladies of the garden club set. 283 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: So not only do these carrying flowers smell like we're 284 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: just saying, but they also tend to look the part right. So, 285 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: for instance, the Stipilia asterious flower is coated with fine hairs, 286 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: and that's handy because it makes the flower resemble moldy meat. 287 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 1: And then we have the rough roughly see you are 288 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: no oldie, And that's the world's largest flower. And that's 289 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 1: another fleshy carrion flower located in Sumatra. Sumatra is just 290 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 1: ripe with this stuff, like literally right with this stuff. 291 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: So what about animals? I assume you know, naturally, not 292 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: every animal's gonna smell as nice and metallic as our 293 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: cats and gorillas, right right, right right? Um. So I 294 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: had fun researching this part of the podcast, and I 295 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 1: came up with a couple of candidates for the most 296 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: pungent animal on Earth, and one of the candidates I've 297 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: never heard of before. And this is called the zarilla. 298 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: See now that just makes that just sounds made up, 299 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: it kind of does. I mean, it's like I'm picturing 300 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: like maybe a gorilla with zebra stripes. Is that what 301 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: it does? Yeah? Well no, Robert, it's a striped pole cat, okay. 302 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: And it's a it's a skunk like animal, and it's 303 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: a member of the weasel family. Okay. I see. I 304 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: was wondering when when we were going into this, and like, 305 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: is the skunk going to be the stinkiest animal, because 306 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: that's the one that instantly comes to mind. It does, 307 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: it definitely does. But we're going with the skunk like 308 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: in this case, and I'm I'm weighing in on the zailla. 309 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 1: You want to know why you want to we want 310 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: to know why this convinced me that that Zarella's might 311 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: take the prize. Is that because they can ward off 312 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: lions with their stink, they can ward off lions, the 313 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: King of the Jungle, Yeah, the grassy plaint whatever, but 314 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: but still, yeah, warding off the lion. These guys are ferocious. 315 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: You think they wouldn't shy away from a slightly stinky meal. Well, 316 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: I read one editorial about the Zorella that said it's 317 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 1: anal glance can be smelled from a half mile away. Yeah, okay, 318 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: I have another. Are you ready? Are you ready for 319 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: the next nomination? You know what, I'm finding something to 320 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: be true in this podcasting series we've been doing. I 321 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: think I have a stronger stomach than you do. Maybe 322 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 1: so that mean they're yeah, I mean, if you listen, 323 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: I mean with the worm and the woman's foot and listener, man, 324 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: that was worms and a woman's foot. That was kind 325 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: of gross. That was pretty cool and it was cool, 326 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: but it was you know, it's a pretty grim image. Right. 327 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: So my next nomination, getting back to pungent animals, is 328 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: is a beetle? The bombardier beetle. I've seen clips of 329 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: these guys. Yeah. Yeah, So these beetles, when physically assaulted, um, 330 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,719 Speaker 1: they squirt out this hot quininoid spray from their abdomens, 331 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: and the African bombardiered beetle can aim its spray and 332 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: pretty much any direction. So I was reading about this 333 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: in the journal Proceedings in the National Academies of Science, 334 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: and UM, the reason why this beetle has evolved such 335 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 1: an olfactory defense is if you can remember that can't 336 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,720 Speaker 1: instantly take to the air, so it has to right, right, 337 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:37,359 Speaker 1: I mean, it can eventually take to the air, but 338 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: not instantly, and you know, an instant can be you know, 339 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: life or death, as we all know. And so I 340 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:45,439 Speaker 1: like this. I really like this beetle. And according to 341 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: authors of the paper and the proceedings will just call 342 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,480 Speaker 1: that for short, it can discharge upwards of twenty times 343 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: before depleting its glands. And this is this is kind 344 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 1: of cool. The discharges are accompanied by audible audible detonations, 345 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,120 Speaker 1: so it's like it's setting off these little smell bombs 346 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: and they do deter predators. Yeah, I've seen some. I 347 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 1: think this is one of the ones that some scientists 348 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: were interested in in the you know, in the field 349 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 1: of bio mimicry, like looking how how nature is evolved 350 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 1: to carry out certain processes that we might want to 351 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: carry out. And you know, they're very interested in like, um, 352 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: like like being able to take this squirting mechanism and 353 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 1: apply it to some sort of gizmo or another. You know, 354 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,719 Speaker 1: it's just one of the amazing little evolutionary traits it's 355 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: come around. That's cool. Yeah, So those are two of 356 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: my nominations for most punching Animal. Of course, if you 357 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 1: guys have ones that you'd like to send us, please 358 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,880 Speaker 1: do feel free to email them on over a post 359 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: m on Facebook. But let's talk about when it doesn't 360 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: smell so bad. Well, you know, and this is of 361 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: course subjective because smell is subjective. Um, like a koala. 362 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: Really they're so adorable and yet they stink. Well, a 363 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: lot of people have talked about koala smelling like cough drops, 364 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 1: and do they in fact smell like coughdrops. I've never 365 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: heard this particular, like they're addicted to cough drops or 366 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: oh no, I guess it's their their diet, right, right. 367 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 1: So if you remember, kuala is the furry Australian marsupial 368 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 1: that sleeps all day and it's a cradled up in 369 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 1: the tree branches, and it wakes up maybe you know, 370 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: for a few hours, much as a couple of eucalyptus leaves, 371 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: and it conks out again. Yeah, probably all that time 372 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: digesting food. It's probably not that easy to digest. It 373 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: reminds me of the panda in that their digestis they 374 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: have such a specialized diet, right, you know, the qualitists 375 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: eats these eucalyptic eucalyptus leaves and then you know, maybe 376 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 1: eats a couple of other random things, but mainly eucalyptus, 377 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,120 Speaker 1: you know, in the panda with the bamboo, right. Yeah, 378 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,119 Speaker 1: they're all specialists, right, and but their digestive systems have 379 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 1: such a hard time accommodating that specialized diet. So it 380 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: just doesn't really make sense to me. Yeah, well that's 381 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: why you don't see any any specialist um species like 382 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,159 Speaker 1: building cities and ruling the planet, you know, I mean, 383 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: we're we're more generalists. We can eat just about anything, 384 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: you know. Okay, so you're saying that pandas can't rule 385 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 1: the planet because they exactly. Yeah. And and also it's 386 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 1: like you go, you look around a city, what's running everywhere? Raccoons? Rats, uh, foxes? 387 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: You know, I don't know if fox is canna. I 388 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: don't think foxes are running everywhere anyway. Oh yes they are. 389 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,120 Speaker 1: London foxes are everywhere in London. Seriously, like you don't 390 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:21,879 Speaker 1: see him as much because then I'm not making this. 391 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: It sounds like something I would make up. But but no, 392 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: there are a lot of foxes, uh in especially in 393 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: the London area. Well, So, getting back to coals and 394 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: cough drops for a sex off thea the British foxes. Um, 395 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,159 Speaker 1: so do thesemart supiles actually smell a cough drops? All right? 396 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,120 Speaker 1: So do you se these leaves from the eucalyptus street? 397 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,480 Speaker 1: And remember that eucalyptus is are grown for their gums, 398 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: their resins, their oils in their woods. And then you 399 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,159 Speaker 1: can lift to soil acts as an expectorant. So it 400 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,160 Speaker 1: loosens the flegm and the respiratory passages and that's that's 401 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:58,359 Speaker 1: great for those cold. It can be an antiseptic and 402 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: it can also function as a dearnorant. But according to 403 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: freelancer Julia Layton and the Australian Quala Foundation. Mostly it's 404 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: the young ones that smell like eucalyptus. As they get older, 405 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: the small fades, and a mature koala will smell muskie 406 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: or like urine and uh, not so much like a 407 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,639 Speaker 1: drug store cough drop, more like an old person's m 408 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,879 Speaker 1: I guess, I guess so, So when cuddling up to 409 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,120 Speaker 1: a koala, go for the young ones, grab the babies. Well, 410 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: I I did look around a little bit, um to 411 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 1: see whether kuala breath smelled like eucalyptus or perhaps a quala. 412 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:34,720 Speaker 1: A kuala passing gas smelled like what a day of 413 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: research you've had? It was pretty fun. So what do 414 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 1: you have? Oh? Um, well, this is pretty interesting. Um. 415 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 1: So I was looking at some we're gonna we're gonna 416 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: leave the animal kingdom. Well, most of the animal can 417 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: get back into the human world of scent. And I 418 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: was reading a couple of studies that had to do 419 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 1: with the way suggestion plays into our our sense of smell. Uh. 420 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: For instance, there is a two thousand five study from 421 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 1: Oxford University. Okay, and this one, this one sound reminds 422 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: me a lot of in our wine episode, we talked 423 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: about the neuroscientists who had everybody come over a wine 424 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: testing and started having all these crazy little experiments to 425 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:16,879 Speaker 1: see if people could tell like good wine from bad wine, 426 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 1: or or you know, white red wine from white wine 427 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 1: has been dyed red. Well, this guy, um right, Professor 428 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: Edmund Rowels invited volunteers over and had them smell cheese, 429 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: except sometimes he labeled the cheese cheddar and other times 430 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: he labeled it body odor, just to see what their 431 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 1: reaction would be. And then of course his team scanned 432 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,399 Speaker 1: the volunteers brains, so you know, it wasn't like a 433 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: great dinner party, I guess, um uh. You know, so 434 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: they scan their brains to see what the what's going 435 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: on in their in their heads when they're smelling these things, 436 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: right a right, So when the cheddar cheese was labeled correctly, 437 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: when it's cheese that's labeled cheese, higher areas of the 438 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:58,359 Speaker 1: brain that interpret smell were activated. Okay uh. Then they 439 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: would give him a whiff of just clean air labels 440 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,119 Speaker 1: with jeddar cheese, and it activated the same areas but 441 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:05,920 Speaker 1: to a lesser extent. So it's kind of like that, 442 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: you know, there's there's the suggestion is still doing a 443 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: lot of work, but but not as much as that 444 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,359 Speaker 1: the real thing you know, would would do. Okay, And 445 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 1: the researchers also made sure to check how big a 446 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: sniff they were taking to see if that was playing 447 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: an effect that that didn't have any effect on on 448 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,919 Speaker 1: the results. So anyway, the results of the result of 449 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: this experiment was they found that the pleasantness of the 450 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 1: odor um is being Mardu modulated in a part of 451 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,440 Speaker 1: the brain called the and I make it this wrong, 452 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: the orbito frontal cortex, which is involved with emotions. All right, 453 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 1: So this is like a high level influence on on 454 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,719 Speaker 1: on how you're smelling things. Uh. And for instance, this 455 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:44,439 Speaker 1: is the same area the brain that sometimes damaged and 456 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: dementia cases or if someone's in a severe accident, and 457 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: that can alter your It alters your appetite in some cases. 458 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,160 Speaker 1: Um it can apparently even make you more prone to obesity. 459 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: But like the appetite thing is key because of course 460 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: scent plays a key role and you know what we'd 461 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: like to eat, so um. So anyway, that's a really 462 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: interesting case um of just you know, just somebody telling 463 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: you how something smells. And this is this actually goes 464 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: and I don't know if you've found this with kids, 465 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,720 Speaker 1: but I've often heard people talk about like when you're 466 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,439 Speaker 1: feeding kids like new foods, like you never let them 467 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: say it smells bad or you know, you certainly never 468 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 1: refer to something as stinky. That makes sense you come 469 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 1: across that. Do you let your kids say food is stinky? 470 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: I don't know if they know the words stinky, yet 471 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: they wow, you were doing great. I think miss some 472 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:35,919 Speaker 1: other words they shouldn't know, but stink he's not among them. 473 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: Yet another interesting case that I that I came across, 474 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:43,080 Speaker 1: uh goes back to April fool stand in nineteen Yet 475 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,439 Speaker 1: this is like a obviously an April Fool's joke on 476 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: BBC TV, and uh, they had a guy, did it 477 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,200 Speaker 1: involve Foxes? No fox Um, But a professor from Lendon 478 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 1: University comes on and they go through this whole thing 479 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: where they're gonna unveil smell a visions, right, and they 480 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 1: they you know, they unveil some sort of hokey kind 481 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: of um you know, kind of like a look around 482 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,359 Speaker 1: you esque explanation about how they're going to transfer the 483 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 1: scent molecules and like in like into like smaller like 484 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,720 Speaker 1: digital molecules or something like transfer it through the screen, 485 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:15,440 Speaker 1: So basically you'll be able to get close to your 486 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,680 Speaker 1: TV and smell. Hilarious image of everybody getting close and 487 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,119 Speaker 1: sniffing their TVs. Yeah, And apparently people fell from it 488 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: were like, you know, calling it like they put some 489 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 1: coffee or something up there, and people were like, they 490 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: were like, yeah, I can totally smell it. Uh. And 491 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: then in nineteen seventy seven Bristol University psychology lecture named 492 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:38,439 Speaker 1: Michael O'Mahoney tried the same thing all right, and he 493 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,400 Speaker 1: uh he told viewers that they were they were going 494 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: to smell hey and grass and no like cow crap 495 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: or anything, but just like a nice field, you know, 496 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: a pleasant kind of you know, um, you know, outdoor environment. 497 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 1: And people people again like people claim to have smelled it. 498 00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 1: They like wrote in you know, some of these people 499 00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: may have been lying or just wanting to you know, 500 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,399 Speaker 1: you know, that's they kind of factored that into it. 501 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:04,399 Speaker 1: But a lot of people said, hey, I can I 502 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: can totally smell. One person apparently even complained of hay fever, 503 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: just like that astronaut. Yeah, maybe who smell in the 504 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 1: Mondes may. Yeah. So anyway, so we've touched on stinky animals, 505 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: how space might smell, how they how things smell differently 506 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 1: depending on what kind of other sense data we're combining 507 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: with it. Um. I enjoyed this podcast. Yeah, I had 508 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: a lot of fund researching it. Yeah, it's kind of 509 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,640 Speaker 1: a smart guess board, but I think it's it's kind 510 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 1: of like you you put all the elements together, it 511 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: really shows you how how vary the world of of 512 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: at least our own you know, sense perception really is. Yeah, definitely. Hey, 513 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 1: if you guys want to tell us about your your 514 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: favorite smells or your favorite bad smells, or what you 515 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,320 Speaker 1: think Uru might smell like. Yeah, and I'm especially interested 516 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 1: to anybody out there who's like really really knows what 517 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: they're talking about with with the like the atmosphere of 518 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,200 Speaker 1: other planets has additional ideas, even contrary ideas out with 519 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,160 Speaker 1: some of these plow these places might smell like I'd 520 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 1: love to hear about. Yeah, send us an email at 521 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: Science Stuff at how stuff frix dot com, or you 522 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,640 Speaker 1: can always uh hang out on Facebook. We're on Facebook 523 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,119 Speaker 1: two with us stuff from the Science Lab or Twitter 524 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 1: as well with a lab stuff handle yeah, and give 525 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 1: us a cool science joke and gives your name and 526 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:19,679 Speaker 1: where you're from, and we'll throw it up at the 527 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,199 Speaker 1: front of the podcast. All right, cool. Thanks for listening. 528 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics because 529 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com. Want more how stuff works, 530 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,280 Speaker 1: check out our blogs on the house stuff works dot 531 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: com home page.