Human Senses 1. Smell and Taste (17 of 21)

Human Senses

Even if there's just a faint trace of a bad smell, some of the molecules will reach the smell sensing nerve cells, which send their signals to the brain.
So because of the design of our noses, we can detect most bad smells at much lower concentrations than pleasant ones.
Despite having a puny sense of smell compared to most animals we're particularly sensitive to bad odours.
So you might think that creating a smell that everyone in the world finds totally unbearable wouldn't be that difficult.
But it turns out that it is.
Pam Dolton has found that people react to bad smells in surprisingly different ways.
Even the stanch of human faeces, or as they politely call it ''bathroom mall odour.'' Brace yourself.
Here you go.

But bathroom mall odour gets a very mixed reaction.
We found that it wasn't equally repellent to everyone.
Ooh, maybe a turd? Urgh, From the pool ring?
Amazingly some people just aren't too bothered by a smell others find totally unbearable.
Why do we react so differently to the same bad smell?
It 's not the worst.
lts because as we grow up our responses to smells develop gradually.
When we're tiny bad smells don't seem to give us too much of a problem.
Babies hardly notice the stench of their dirty nappy.
But slowly we're influenced by our parents telling us that pooh, is nasty stuff.
And our feelings about the smell gradually get stronger.
We all tend to find some smells unpleasant.
Because they warn us of danger.
But how strongly we react is all a matter of personal experience.