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Scents and nonscents
Jun. 25th, 2012 11:15 amIt's said that our sense of smell is the most evocative of our five senses. But I wonder if that may be changing. Will we, in the course of the next two or three generations, have our sense of smell bred right out of us? Because at the moment, it seems that a majority of people want to smell precisely... NOTHING.
In the early days of my working life, there were often a couple of people in any workplace who offended their co-workers because of their natural bodily odours: usually sweat, occasionally bad breath. The emerging trend in the 1970s of "open concept" offices was probably a major contributor to the problem. When you could go into your office and it had a real door on it, you could simply shut out the offender. Even if you shared your office with two or three other people, at least you could open the windows in those days.
Fast forward a couple of decades and increasingly, the major objection was to people (usually women, but not always) who used too much perfume or other scented products. Most government offices nowadays are scent-free zones. Other public and private environments have embraced the cause as well - schools, clinics, theatres, retail establishments, the list goes on. It's a wonder perfume manufacturers are still in business!
Remember high school chemistry labs? You could smell it right away if someone left the gas running, and the problem was swiftly dealt with. Our sense of smell was, and still should be, an important survival mechanism. But increasingly, it's not. Do you smell smoke? Well, let's see what our built-in smoke detectors and sprinkler systems have to say before we evacuate the building!
Even in my daughter's generation, children still enjoyed "scratch and sniff" books; they coloured pictures with scented markers; they played with scented dolls like Strawberry Shortcake and her fruitful friends.
In years to come, will young people look at us blankly if we tell them to "wake up and smell the coffee"? Personally, I am very much disheartened by the idea of a bland world in which we can't step outside into the smell of freshly-cut grass or spring lilacs, or into a restaurant in which the aroma of spicy roasted garlic enhances the flavour of the meal we are about to receive.
In the early days of my working life, there were often a couple of people in any workplace who offended their co-workers because of their natural bodily odours: usually sweat, occasionally bad breath. The emerging trend in the 1970s of "open concept" offices was probably a major contributor to the problem. When you could go into your office and it had a real door on it, you could simply shut out the offender. Even if you shared your office with two or three other people, at least you could open the windows in those days.
Fast forward a couple of decades and increasingly, the major objection was to people (usually women, but not always) who used too much perfume or other scented products. Most government offices nowadays are scent-free zones. Other public and private environments have embraced the cause as well - schools, clinics, theatres, retail establishments, the list goes on. It's a wonder perfume manufacturers are still in business!
Remember high school chemistry labs? You could smell it right away if someone left the gas running, and the problem was swiftly dealt with. Our sense of smell was, and still should be, an important survival mechanism. But increasingly, it's not. Do you smell smoke? Well, let's see what our built-in smoke detectors and sprinkler systems have to say before we evacuate the building!
Even in my daughter's generation, children still enjoyed "scratch and sniff" books; they coloured pictures with scented markers; they played with scented dolls like Strawberry Shortcake and her fruitful friends.
In years to come, will young people look at us blankly if we tell them to "wake up and smell the coffee"? Personally, I am very much disheartened by the idea of a bland world in which we can't step outside into the smell of freshly-cut grass or spring lilacs, or into a restaurant in which the aroma of spicy roasted garlic enhances the flavour of the meal we are about to receive.
