Sniff out 30 amazing facts about the sense of smell

Not to be sniffed at! Here are 30 amazing facts about the sense of smell - Smell is one of the five senses, the others being taste, touch, sight and sound. We develop a sense of smell as a newborn, even before we can see, and smells can influence our mood, the way we eat and drink and also our attraction to others. Click to find out some curious facts about how we and others use our noses.

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We sense smell before we can see - The first sense developed by a newborn is smell. In fact, a baby recognizes its mother through smell rather than by sight.

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Smells from childhood - According to a study published by The Mirror, people can remember smells with 65% accuracy after a year. Smells linked to positive memories are also recalled quickly.

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The nose - The area of the nose is responsible for identifying odors is called the olfactory epithelium, located inside the nasal cavity.

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Dogs and humans - Dogs are far more sensitive to smell than we are. Whereas humans have between five and six million odor receptor cells, dogs boast an impressive 220 million.

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Scent variety - The human nose is capable of identifying up to 1 billion different smells.

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Butterflies - The male of this species is able to detect a female up to 2 kilometers away.

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Smelling better every month - Human olfactory cells are regenerated every 28 days or so, which means our sense of smell is always at its best.

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Sharks - Sharks also have a keen sense of smell and can detect diluted blood droplets in water several kilometers away.

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Snakes - Snakes identify smell using their tongues. When it flicks its tongue in the air, a snake picks up tiny chemical particles. When it brings its tongue back into its mouth, the tongue fits into a special organ on the roof of the mouth - the vomeronasal system - where those particles are identified by the snake.

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The skunk - They are known to smell bad, but in fact these animals only spray their bad smell when they feel threatened. The odor is secreted from its anal scent glands.

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Insects - Insects are also able to sense smell. They do so through their mouths and by using their antennae.

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Smell vs taste - To our brains, "taste" is actually a fusion of taste and smell, plus touch, rolled into a single sensation. "Flavor" is a more accurate term for what we usually describe as taste; therefore, smell not only influences, but is an integral part of flavor.

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Rafflesia arnoldii - This species of flowering plant, endemic to Indonesia, is noted for producing the largest individual flower on earth. It's also notorious for its sickening scent, a pungent odor of rotting flesh.

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Durian - Another fruit infamous for its sickening stench, durian is found in southeast Asia and is considered a delicacy in places like China, Thailand and Malaysia.

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A hallucination of a disagreeable odor - Cacosmia is the name given for this odd state of mind, when someone describes a sensation of bad smell not related to a specific odor, or the perception of foul odor or stench when none exists.

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Smell vs age - The ability to identify smell may decrease with age, either because of declining health or a poor diet. Sense of smell can start to weaken at 65 years.

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Breathing in your brew - The smells associated with beer is the result of the sum total of more than 700 substances that give off a huge variety of scents and aromas.

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The smell of death - Cadaverine is a foul-smelling diamine compound produced by the putrefaction of animal tissue. The odor of a decaying body is considered by most as the worst smell in the world.

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Bad breath - Halitosis, or bad breath, can be caused by a number of factors including gum disease, tooth decay, reflux and bacteria forming on the tongue.

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Men and women - Studies suggest that women have a more acute sense of smell than men.

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Sense of smell in the workplace - Some jobs require a very precise sense of smell, for example a perfumer relies totally on their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions.

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Wine - One of the most precise ways of identifying and grading wine is by the nose. Experienced wine tasters can describe a wine's notes by smell alone, and wine tasting is regarded as a highly skilled art.

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Our own unique odor - It's possible to recognize a person by the odor that emanates from their body. Each of us has a unique and characteristic smell, detectable only by others.

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Sleep - Scents will not rouse us from slumber according to some studies. There is minimal olfactory perception during sleep.

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Wearing an attractive scent - Wearing an attractive perfume can change the way you are perceived, and studies have noted that a subtle and balanced scent can change the way we look at another person.

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Smells that overwhelm - Some odors can be so intense that they overwhelm the entire environment. Places such as a badly ventilated restaurant or cafe can consume everybody with the smell of food, such as oily French fries.

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Smell the difference - To recap, every individual has their own characteristic odor signature, a result of us all having a unique set of olfactory receptors.

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Setting the mood - Pleasant odors and scents hit our happy button and help lighten mood. If you don't believe it, wear an attractive fragrance and see what happens.

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A sniff down memory lane - Smells can trigger memories, but unlike visual recollections, olfactory memories usually only recall events from the first decade of someone's life.

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The bear essentials - Bears have millions of separate olfactory receptors in their nasal cavity, more even than a sniffer dog.

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