The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.
In humans, it occurs when an odor binds to a receptor within the nasal cavity, transmitting a signal through the olfactory system. Glomeruli aggregate signals from these receptors and transmit them to the olfactory bulb, where the sensory input will start to interact with parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion.
Glomeruli are important waystations in the pathway from the nose to the olfactory cortex and have been found to be critical for odorant signal transduction.
Coronal section of olfactory bulb. (Schwalbe.)Wikipedia
It is estimated that dogs, in general, have an olfactory sense approximately ten thousand to a hundred thousand times more acute than a human’s. This does not mean they are overwhelmed by smells our noses can detect; rather, it means they can discern a molecular presence when it is in much greater dilution in the carrier, air.
Scenthounds as a group can smell one- to ten-million times more acutely than a human, and bloodhounds, which have the keenest sense of smell of any dogs, have noses ten- to one-hundred-million times more sensitive than a human’s. They were bred for the specific purpose of tracking humans, and can detect a scent trail a few days old. The second-most-sensitive nose is possessed by the Basset Hound, which was bred to track and hunt rabbits and other small animals.
Grizzly bears have a sense of smell seven times stronger than that of the bloodhound, essential for locating food underground. Using their elongated claws, bears dig deep trenches in search of burrowing animals and nests as well as roots, bulbs, and insects.
In many species, smell is highly tuned to pheromones; a male silkworm moth, for example, can sense a single molecule of bombykol.
Thus, it [smell] is the most important sensation for insects.
In the cinematic classic, A Private Function, anosmia is a major plot point. Set against the backdrop of food rationing in rural 1947 England, a food inspector with anosmia is unable to detect the presence of a pig with roaring diarrhea that is hidden in his boarding house.
Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the loss of the ability to detect one or more smells. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent. It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells.
On Sneak Previews in 1985, both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the movie two thumbs up. They called it one “really funny movie” and one “flat out winner.” Siskel said it “had perfectly believable characters” and Ebert said “just beneath this veneer of respectability is utter madness.
Awards
The film won three BAFTA Film Awards: Best Actress for Maggie Smith, Best Supporting Actress for Liz Smith and Best Supporting Actor, for Denholm Elliott. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay (Alan Bennett) and Best Film.
Sadly, this reception was not shared with UC#4’s spousal unit. UC#4 thought seeing this movie would be a delightful way to spend our 2nd anniversary. This opinion was not shared by Spousal Unit, who still to this day brings up the topic of “The Pig Movie.”
Eleanor Gamble
Eleanor Gamble was a pioneer Smellologist.
Eleanor Acheson McCulloch Gamble (March 2, 1868 – August 30, 1933) was an influential American psychologist from the late 19th century through the early 20th century. – Wikipedia
Education Gamble’s education began in 1889 when she graduated with her bachelor’s degree Wellesley College, MA. She then went on to pursue her PhD at Cornell University, one of the few schools accepting women in this time period. During this time, she began to study smell under her supervisor E. B. Titchener and wrote her doctoral thesis “The Applicability of Weber’s Law to Smell”. Gamble was able to become a part of The Experimentalists since she received her PhD degree at Cornell University.
Gamble’s research on the olfactory senses and on memory gave way to new research, including research done by her own advisor, Titchener. At the time of her death, she was doing new research on word memory and chance-reactions to words. She helped to edit and publish multiple books, texts, articles, and theses. She was a beloved teacher and was even elected as an honorary member of the class of 1926 at Wellesley College.
Wellesley College has a series of stained glass windows in their chapel, including one dedicated to Eleanor Gamble on 17 June 1939. It was gifted to the college by her classmates of 1889. The window features multiple images, including a woman with a pen and book, and an owl to symbolize wisdom. The second is an image of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Gamble loved animals and had multiple cocker spaniels whom she cared for greatly. The window has an inscription, ‘Wisdom, expressive of the great teacher’. Her funeral was held at Wellesley College, and one of her colleagues, T. Proctor, gave a eulogy. According to Proctor, Eleanor was a very talented teacher who was very devoted to her research and students. – Wikipedia
Elder G created some beautiful images to help us celebrate Eleanor Gamble
Semi-Sequitur: Hedvig Posse
Hedvig Posse (8 August 1861 – 22 December 1927) was a Swedish missionary in South Africa, linguist and hymn writer. She was one of the “most prominent translators and recorders of Zulu music and oral history”, who translated number of stories, fairy tales and poetries from Zulu to Swedish. She also translated Swedish hymns into Zulu, with the “aim of replacing traditional songs with Christian texts”.
Left: Eleanor Gamble (March 2, 1868 – August 30, 1933), Cornell scholar and pioneer in the field of olfactory research. Right: Hedvig Posse (8 August 1861 – 22 December 1927), Swedish missionary who translated poetry and folk stories from Zulu to Swedish.
This leads us to the following joke:
Person 1: Hey, I haven’t seen you for a while! Person 2: I’ve been down in Africa, teaching the natives to play cards. Person 1: Zulus? Person 2: No, I won most of the time.
Finally, The Smells of the Elders
UC#4
Mexican Bakery
Flower of the Loquat
Ripe peaches
Cinnabon
A busy country diner serving breakfast
Sally the Intern
Christmas: ginger, cloves, cinnamon
Douglas fir Christmas trees
Bacon
Lavender
Elder KM
Anything baking!
Lavender
Play-Doh
UC#4 SU
Roses
A baby after a bath
UC#3
Blu Cheese (unverified)
UC#1
Garden after a rain
UC#2
Pizza
Fried Chicken
Meat grilled on the BBQ
Watermelon
Chicken Pot Pie
Pine lumber
Maple Syrup
A Conversation with Elder G
WLBOTT: Now back to the sense of smell. How much of a dog’s brain is dedicated to processing its sense of smell?
Elder G: In dogs, about 12.5% of their brain is dedicated to processing their sense of smell. This is significantly larger compared to humans, where only about 1% of the brain is involved in olfactory processing. This specialization allows dogs to have a highly developed sense of smell, making them excellent at tasks like tracking, detecting substances, and identifying individuals by scent.
WLBOTT: If a human suddenly had the sense of smell like a dog, what would that be like?
Elder G: If a human suddenly developed a sense of smell comparable to that of a dog, the experience would be quite overwhelming and transformative. Here are some possible effects:
1. **Increased Sensory Input**: Humans would be bombarded with a vast array of scents, many of which are too faint for our current senses to detect. This could make ordinary environments feel much more complex and rich.
2. **Scent Layering**: Humans would be able to detect individual components within a mixture of scents. For example, the smell of a meal could be broken down into each ingredient, or a forest walk could reveal a multitude of plants, animals, and soil types.
3. **Enhanced Detection Abilities**: Humans would be able to track scents over long distances, detect the presence of people or animals from far away, and identify individuals by their unique scent signatures.
4. **Emotional Impact**: Scents can evoke strong memories and emotions. With an enhanced sense of smell, humans might experience more intense emotional responses triggered by various odors.
5. **New Interactions**: Social interactions could change, as humans might rely more on scent to gather information about others, similar to how dogs use scent to recognize and understand each other.
6. **Potential Overwhelm**: The sheer volume and intensity of new olfactory information might be overwhelming at first. Humans might need to learn how to filter and manage this sensory input to avoid sensory overload.
7. **Practical Applications**: Enhanced smell could improve abilities in fields like cooking, perfumery, medicine (diagnosing illnesses through scent), and search-and-rescue operations.
8. **Changes in Daily Life**: Everyday activities could become more complex. For example, grocery shopping might involve sorting through the myriad scents of food items, and personal hygiene routines might change to manage the stronger sense of smell.
Overall, gaining a dog’s sense of smell would dramatically alter human perception and interaction with the world, bringing both challenges and fascinating new abilities.
Elder G imagined the other Elders with a dog-level sense of smell.
