What creates smell?

[ChicoFromThe305]

We know smell exists and there's good and bad smell and it's known that some bad smells can come from bacteria but does all smell come from bacteria, there's good and bad bacteria, most smells that we smell on the regular aren't bad and if not good they are ehhh just how there's more good than bad bacteria in the world and could it be possible all smells come from bacteria or is our nose like eyes when it comes to light but with smells and its our noses just being tricked by stuff, follow up question, we also always say things smell good or bad but how do we know we are smelling the exact same smell? 🤔

We could just smell a different maybe even similar smell that everyone agrees it smells bad or good 🤔

[Oliverlogan263]

Man, smells are weird. From what I've learned in science class:

- Not all smells come directly from bacteria. A lot do, like if something goes bad it's usually bacteria breaking stuff down and releasing stinky gases.

- But smells can also come from chemical interactions in things. Like certain chemicals reacting releases smell particles into the air. Plants and flowers do this a lot.

- Our nose has special cells in it called smell receptors that pick up tiny particles in the air called odor molecules. Different smells have unique shaped molecules.

- Those molecules attach to different receptors, which send signals to our brain saying "hey I smell this!" That's how we recognize different scents.

- But you're right, just cuz something sets off my receptors doesn't mean it's activating someone else's in the EXACT same way. Smell is pretty subjective.

- I think in general we agree on basic smells like roses smelling better than trash. But some subtle smells might click differently in each nose.

So in summary - bacteria ain't the only source of smells, but they do make a lot of them. And we all smell things a little differently even if we can identify basic scents similarly. Brains and noses are weird man!

[ChicoFromThe305]

I guess not all bacteria smells the same lol

[Oliverlogan263]

For sure man, not all bacteria smells are created equal! Like some germs definitely produce more foul odors than others.

It's wild to think about all the different chemical reactions and scent molecules bouncing around us all the time. And how our noses are sensitive enough to detect even subtle differences.

I bet if we could break down smells on a microscopic level, we'd see there's way more variety than just "good" and "bad". Probably tons of unique odor profiles out there.

And like you said dude, even if Person A and Person B are smelling slightly different things, as long as they can both agree Pizza smells amazeballs, does it really matter?

As long as we can all get down with the delicious scents in life and avoid rotten stuff, I'm cool just enjoying smells without overthinking the science behind it too much. But it is pretty rad to think about sometimes too!

[TheSpaceGnome]

Your brain interprets airborn chemicals/elements that touch receptors in your nose as smells. Smells themselves are not real, just a language your brain uses. Just like color and sound aren't real, they are just the way we interpret energy and vibrations.

[IslaTheWitch]

Smell is an effect of chemical reactions. It could be done by bacteria, fungi, etc or just mixing chemical substances like sulfur.

Our brain learns. Some things learned by our ancestors are coded genetically. Stench of rotten meat, dangerous for our life and health substances like sulfur. We just know they smell bad, we don't need to learn it.

But other smells and scents we learn through the life. There three elements needed to properly remember the smell. The experience of the smell, our memory and involved emotion. Emotions are not needed for remembering process but make the memory more vivid and longer available.

The more we are experiencing the smell the better we remember it.

It's funny thing but for people of my age and older in Poland oranges will ALWAYS connect with Christmas. It was the only time of the year when to Poland were arriving sour oranges from Cuba... we didn't have access to oranges any other time, but on Christmas :D so the link is very strong.

[exitseven]

With me it is beef stew.

[VV3ZZY123]

Its Arbitrary

[ChicoFromThe305]

Huh.