We all have a nose, but, we all smell things differently. Most of us can smell garbage, maybe some bad body odor from a distance, and a skunk for sure. However, according to research, you can also smell emotion. Researchers conducted experiments on sweat. They had volunteers watch cheerful videos with absorbent pads in their armpits. Later they had another group sniff the pads, gross right? But, the sniffers had noticeable reactions in their facial muscles that relate to mood improvement, their smile muscles were more active. Happy feelings weren’t the only thing that could be communicated by body odor either. Women were particularly sensitive to the body odor of anxious men, and reacted differently to the odor of men who played an aggressive sport as opposed to a calm game.
Other research indicates that those with sensitive noses generally have larger social circles and more friends, indicating our sense of smell might help us smell out potential friends. So next time you are looking at making a friend, your nose might be trying to tell you something. Stop and think like Toucan Sam
