Why are “good smells” like perfume or flowers more likely to fade quickly than “bad smells” like smoke and rotting food?
In: Chemistry
They don’t really, but your sensitivity to odours is increased, especially those of rotting food. Usually there’s a survival component to it, and with time we became sensitive to those smells.
Smoke is an exception, as it contains a higher concentration of airborne particles that can adhere to objects and give off a persistent odour.
I occasionally use agarwood oil, it smells wonderful and can linger for a surprisingly long time.
“Good smells” often come from volatile compounds that evaporate quickly and don’t linger, while “bad smells” from things like smoke or rotting food are often made of larger, more stable molecules that stick around longer. Plus, we’re wired to notice and remember danger-related smells more as a survival instinct.
For one, perfume isn’t constantly applied, rotting food constantly smells, no matter what you do, same for dirt, so it quickly overcomes the nice smell.
Also, it might have been better to smell more bad things than good ones, as avoiding danger is a priority.
This is based on a false assumption. If you had a field of flowers beside you, the smell would not fade quickly.
Comparing perfume with rotting food is not a fair comparison. It would be better to compare perfume from the smell of smoke that you get when you put out a candle. They both make a scent in the air, but they both fade over time.
This is because they dilute into the air until they drop below a point where you can detect them.
Live flowers smell good as long as they live. Rotting food smells bad as long as it is rotting.
Perfume fades because it’s literally just liquid that eventually evaporates. If someone gave you a perfume that intentionally is a “bad smell” it would fade just as quick.
The point being it is not a “Good smell vs bad smell” question. It is a “what is the source of the smell, and how long does the source last” question.
Latest Answers