Saturday, November 28, 2009

Nasal sway?

Did you read the blurb in TIME magazine about the study being done about how clean scents can induce people to behave virtuously and bad smells can make people behave cruddy? Apparently clean scents can help regulate better, ethical behavior. A room sprayed with Windex and citrus-scents had people acting more charitably than people in an unscented room.

On the other end of the spectrum (errr---), people unfortunate enough to be exposed to a fart-scented spray (how the hell did they go about bottling that ?!) acted more critical and judgmental about certain moral issues. (Big surprise here).

This isn't a big discovery (though I'm sure they spent millions in grant money on the study)....all the realtors who say to have cookies baking in an oven, or mulled cider, or pumpkin in the air when people tour your house have been on to this for years.....I guess I will try to bottle some of the scent when we've been 'skunked' out on the terrace to release when guests come over and won't leave....

20 comments:

Deborah said...

That's a good idea, we can use it for lousy guests and mean bosses!!

Doris Sturm said...

I have a very sensitive sense of smell and I know that first hand. Certain smells transport me back in time and bring me pleaseant childhood memories, i.e. baking bread or orange peels or scent of fresh Christmas tree...also, did you know that bad odors, such as in public restrooms not only smell fould, but also carry bacteria that when inhaled can make you sick? Always carry a hanky for those sorts of places because it's not just the odor, but the bacteria that causes it to smell so rotten that can harm you.

strokeofliving said...

Ha-ha,

I can just see the commercial now, Ode to Skunk. Or the classic scene in 'Boomerang' where Eddie Murphy's character empowers Geoffrey Holder's character to create anything he wanted for the Strange'perfume commercial. STRANGE' It stinks so good!

Whomever produces the SNL digital shorts can spearhead the spots.

Silver said...

"all the realtors who say to have cookies baking in an oven, or mulled cider, or pumpkin in the air when people tour your house have been on to this for years...."

now is that why it's a King's Cross Station here? Now i just gotta cut down on the baking!

btw, you write with so much light and a smart injection of humour, i will never know about your own fight with that dreadful desease if you had not said it.

Reading about them will be really heavy for me right now, so i may come back for it when my load gets lighter..

PaperbackWriter said...

there's also a diet therapy involving scents. People exposed to the scent of a food they disliked or only moderately liked were found to eat less or better foods than those exposed to scents they liked.

Though I find lavender and any fragrances with ozone to them put me off my mood faster than anything. Probably why I try to only work with those scents when I absolutely have to.

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

So the smell of cookies will make me a more ethical person? Better start baking!

Betty Manousos said...

I.W.W. I have a sensitive sense of smell.
I love the smell of baked cookies , the scent of flowers,trees,waves.....
Oh how I enjoyed your post!
Have a blissful Sunday!.
lots of love and
hugs hugs

tut-tut said...

Hello, IWW!

Revolutionary Road was just fine if you like your acting on the desperately emotive side of the aisle. Have just discovered (via another blogger) that Netflix allows streaming of many British TV shows, so am often found huddled over the laptop watching Chef.

plainolebob said...

Amy, when you get that scent captured sen me a case, I could never have enough of that around here.
BIG HUGS

ReformingGeek said...

I like the idea of a bad smell to subliminally induce long-winded guests to leave!

I think my cat can take care of that!

Unknown said...

Loved that post. Getting a visual of reasearchers running around gathering up fart odors!!! lol

Aunt Juicebox said...

I've always wished they bottled some sort of people repellent. You could put some on, and where ever you went, everyone would give you a wide berth because of your repulsive stench. ;)

secret agent woman said...

Smell is our most primitive sense (excluding proprioception, I suppose, but I mean the traditional five senses). I guess it would be ideal tohave some osrt of good smell when people get to your houuse which becomes foul when they over-stay their welcome.

Anonymous said...

Bad scents Always bring out bad behavior in me, I get boisterous.

Nanny Goats In Panties said...

Why can't I come up with great ideas like that for some "grant" money?

Dame Nuisance said...

LMFAO, A. Love the idea. If you can bottle it, you'll never have to work a day again, you can become one of the idle rich and work only when you want to! Wouldn't that be nice?

Fun post. Missed the Time article because I have been deep in a cave chained to the ol' laptop for National Novel Writing Month. Now that it's over, I'm ba-ack. Didja miss me?

Jazz said...

Or you can just tell them: If I were somewhere else, I'd leave just about now...

Because, you'd have to deal with the skunk smell even after they're gone.

wendy said...

I wasn't aware that a "study" had been done on this but makes sense. I think if we are surrounded by beautiful scents, images or whatever, it makes us feel good and therefore ACT good. I love my scentsy candle with all the different fragrances as it makes me more "calm".
But -----you gotta wonder about the Show Austin Powers where Fat Bastard says he "loves the smell of his own brew" (if you haven't seen it this will make no sense to you)
Guess it's all in the "smeller"

I am going to go light my candle now

Helen McGinn said...

Oh, I love this! *L* It's why I won't have a dog and keep Christmas scent around at all times.... ;O)

Tam and John said...

Hilarious...I love where grant money goes. Seriously, this is news??? No one has ever felt benevolent in a stinky bathroom. Maybe we should have scented candles in prison? Bake more banana bread in highschool classrooms? Instead of driving violation fines, road ragers should be required to put a bunch of those little Christmas tree things on their rearviews.