Is the aroma of burning flesh putting you off your lunch? An Israeli company called Patus is marketing a new product called Odor Screen to EMTs, soldiers, cops, and medical staff who work at the sites of suicide bombings, combat zones, and other modern catastrophes. The Proustian link between smell and vivid memories is well established, and by displacing traumatic odors with a "calming vanilla aroma," the company hopes to lessen PTSD in first responders, and that's no laughing matter. [via medgadget]
posted by digaman on Feb 9, 2005 - 26 comments

What does blue smell like? A novel theory contends that humans smell the frequency of a molecule, rather than shape (full study, pdf). In fact, there is no evidence to support either theory, leading to the question, how do humans smell? Inspired by bonehead.
posted by grateful on Jul 12, 2004 - 31 comments

Compressed Art: Perfume as Art, or Commerce masquerading as Art? This site's main feature is an intriguing olfactory seven deadly sins, put together by artist Nobi Shioya, where each sin is associated with a specific perfumer, all of whom, one comes to realize, work for the same company, one of the big three international perfumes & flavours concerns. In a similar vein: the latest 'scent' issue of Visionaire (warning flash/pop-ups).
posted by misteraitch on Jan 12, 2004 - 1 comment

Smell-o-vision may not be that far off, if the Digiscents.com people have their way.
posted by cCranium on May 16, 2000 - 10 comments