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Scientists explain why that 'one smell' evokes the most blissful memory

"A single smell may instantaneously evoke a past event in our life."

Canva Photos.

A woman sniffs a flower which evokes memories.

Ever wonder why you might get a trace of a scent and instantly get carried back to a year, a time, a place? (For me, it's Scotch tape. On the rare occasion that I smell it, I'm transported right back to Christmas in the early '80s.)

The brain's olfactory bulb, which processes the sense of smell, has the strongest influence on conjuring up memories. A recent article in Harvard Medicine cites Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, Sandeep Robert Datta, saying, “It’s now clear that even though our sense of smell is not as robust as that of a mouse or bloodhound, it is deeply tied to our cognitive centers, our emotional centers, and our memory centers. We’re dependent on it for a sense of well-being and centeredness in the world.”

Once a scent molecule enters the nasal cavity and reaches one of the "smell sensors," it makes a pit stop in the olfactory bulb and gives "information" to the cerebral cortex. In an educational video posted by Britannica, they relay "Since some of these regions are also involved in memory, a single smell may instantaneously evoke a past event in our life."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

McDonough explains further that the information or "signals" then travel "to key areas of the brain involved in learning, emotion, and memory: the olfactory, or piriform cortex, which identifies smells; the amygdala, which is involved in generating emotion; and the hippocampus, which stores and organizes memories."

If our brain has subconsciously made a connection between a smell and something that impacted our memory, it can "store it indefinitely." She shares, "Even decades later, the same scent can bring the memory and emotional salience of the moment flooding back."

Redditors—of which there are nearly eight hundred on this thread alone—jumped to comment on the post, "What's a smell that instantly takes you back to your younger years?" The first comment is very specific: "Hot asphalt. It's immediately summer in the late '70s and I'm either playing 4-Square in the road, or we're at Six Flags."

asphalt, smells, six flags, roller coaster, memory A roller coaster loops around at Six Flags amusement park. Photo by Zachariah Aussi on Unsplash

This got hundreds of upvotes, with one person adding that they especially love the smell of asphalt in the rain. Someone then took the time to respond with the beautiful science behind that exact scent: "That smell is called petrichor and is caused by a terpene called geosmin that is released from the earth after being hit by rain. It’s a Greek word. ‘Petri’ means stone and ‘ichor’ is the golden liquid that flowed through the blood of Gods. So not only is it an amazing smell, it’s also one of the coolest words with a most unique etymology."

Quite a few also mentioned suntan oil. One person even deviously found a way to manipulate their boss, knowing how strongly it evokes memories in so many of us: "When I used to work in an office, I’d put on Coppertone at my desk Friday afternoons when I really wanted to get out early and enjoy nice weather. My boss would smell it and leave around 2 to play golf. (edit: Hawaiian Tropic)"

Along the same lines and also quite popular in the comment section was chlorine. "Chlorine in swimming pools! Not used so often anymore where I live, but back in my grandma's hometown, it's the same as ever!" Another adds how specifically this smell taps into a memory: "Being wrapped in a towel, eating ham and cheese sandwiches with Doritos by the pool was peak childhood."

nostalgia, swimming, chlorine, memory, smellsA young girl swims in a pool. Photo by Mariano Nocetti on Unsplash

So many more chimed in with answers—from freshly cut grass pulling them back through a memory tunnel to an elementary school playground, to the smell of leather reminding them of their Little League baseball team. The glue (which itself seems to trigger past experiences) that binds most of the comments seems to be: sweet memories from childhood.

A few more shared comments for the road:

"Concord grape juice gets me every time."

"A fog machine. Takes me back to the days I worked at Knott's Scary Farm."

And maybe my personal favorite? "Drakkar Noir, baby."

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smells
Pop Culture

3 reasons why my mom swears the 1993 Super Mario movie is actually an all-time classic

Even the stars of the movie hated it. But not my mom. Please allow her to explain.

Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers/Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi in one of the worst films ever made.

The Super Mario Bros. movie (the original 1993 one, not the 2023 Chris Pratt version that gave us the now-classic “Peaches” singing meme) is nearly universally reviled as one of the worst movies of all time. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at a 29% approval rating among critics and 30% approval among regular viewers. It also bombed at the box office. Per Box Office Mojo, it made slightly over $8.5 million dollars against the production budget of $48 million. That was in 1993 money!

Yet somehow, in spite of all of the reasons why it's terrible from a creative and financial perspective, in spite of all logic, it's my 70-something-year-old mother's favorite movie.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

In an interview with The Guardian, the late Bob Hoskins, a BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, who starred in the movie answered the following speed round questions:

“What is the worst job you've done?”

“Super Mario Brothers.”

“What has been your biggest disappointment?”

“Super Mario Brothers.”

“If you could edit your past, what would you change?”

“I wouldn't do Super Mario Brothers.”

The lead star of the movie hated it, too, but he at least got paid to slog through it. So why is it that the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film is my boomer mother’s favorite movie? Maybe it was some of the lessons it taught in the movie’s plot along with the lessons learned during the making of it.

Lesson #1 - Focus is important, especially in relationships and creative pursuits

This isn't about focus in the cinematography-sense, but in terms of pursuits. In the movie, Mario and Luigi shift their focus from their plumbing business to something more important: their relationships. Both of their love interests, Daniella and Princess Daisy, are kidnapped by Koopa’s henchmen, leading them to drop focus on their plumbing jobs and follow their kidnappers into an alternate dank Blade Runner dimension with dinosaur people. One of the downfalls in Koopa’s plan to merge Dinohattan’s dimension with Earth’s was shifting his focus away from his girlfriend, Lena, who became jealous and tried to overthrow him. In the end, by focusing on the mantra “trust the fungus” our heroes are able to defeat Koopa and keep our dimensions from merging together into something off-putting, goopy, and with decent but poorly utilized practical effects.

If you’re reading this thinking that “focus” as a motif for the film is weak at best, you’d be correct. However, focus is still a lesson learned from the making of this movie.

An in-depth article in Inverse shed light on the vast number of script rewrites, random changes, and split-decisions made on a whim that made production of the movie a complete mess. An early script was co-written by Dick Clement, a person who never played a Super Mario Bros. video game. The story was then altered to be a “love story between two brothers” that was grounded in reality according to the film’s co-director Rocky Morton. Keep in mind that this is a movie intended for children inspired by a game that featured two plumbers jumping on floating platforms and anthropomorphic bipedal turtles. Then the producer had notes to make the movie more magical. Then Nintendo intervened, nearly scrapping the whole thing. Then the script was rewritten again by another set of writers. Then those writers were asked to come to set to rewrite scenes as the movie was shooting.

This haphazard focus not only moved whatever story there was into different directions and visions, but also tainted the relationships between the writers, directors, producers, Nintendo, and the actors. Had they been on the same page from the beginning, or fully compromised to one shared vision, they might not have made a masterpiece but it would have made a more focused film. Or at least a film that didn’t threaten the careers of so many people involved. The film was so unfocused that even Bob Hoskins didn’t know it was based on a video game until his kid showed him.

Lesson #2 - Know which instincts to follow (and which ones to ignore)

A throughline in the movie is Luigi following his instinct when making decisions. It starts with taking a shortcut in the plumbing truck to beat a competitor to a pipe job, continues to him pursuing Daisy both romantically and through a dimensional portal, all the way to the bittersweet ending. Following his instincts got him into trouble, but also got him into a wild— poorly written, but wild— adventure and a great love in his life.

The filmmakers, on the other hand, should’ve followed less of their instincts and more reason. Like maybe play the video game and base the film more on that while taking their ideas for a brotherly love drama or dino-dystopian sci-fi film for a separate project. Or, in the actors’ case, not get drunk between scenes.

In fact, maybe I should follow my instinct like Luigi did and abandon this entire premise to just share an actual lesson I learned that truly matters.

Final Lesson - Every movie is someone’s favorite movie.

In 1993, my mother didn’t care about how accurate or inaccurate the Mario Bros movie would be the “lore” of the games. She didn’t care about rocky storytelling, weird special effects, or the behind-the-scenes troubles. She’s not a film buff at all. She was a public school teacher that wanted to give her 10-year-old son and his kid sister a fun afternoon at the movies during summer break .

She loved how we all shared the bag of Reese's Pieces she snuck into the theater in her purse. We liked having a nice break from the heat inside a dark, air-conditioned room. She enjoyed the weird-looking Goomba creatures and how we reacted to them. She liked the slapstick moments that her kids found funny. I’m sure she probably remembered the joy in my face after the movie and asking her for quarters to play The Simpsons arcade cabinet afterward. Because she loved all of that, I love this movie, too.

The movie is great for reasons that have nothing to do with it. It’s a memory, a moment in time for her. It’s a time she remembers when her little boy was excited at the start of the summer, and when his little sister was at an age when she would just be excited because everyone around her was excited. Growing up, we didn’t make a lot of money left for vacations, trips to amusement parks, and such. But we had the movies.

From that point on, she’d bring up the Mario Bros. movie whenever a movie trailer that was similar in tone popped up on TV, or when talking about my childhood during dinners when I flew back home to visit. The film is objectively bad by every measure, yet I can’t help but smile like a goof looking back on it.

There are several films that reach people’s hearts, regardless of their quality. There’s probably a movie you watched whenever you were sick as a kid. Or a film your grandpa liked and showed you after you promised not to tell your parents. It could be that terrible movie that was the first date you had with your now-spouse. It could even be a movie that no one has ever seen except for you and your friends because you made it. Every film is someone’s favorite.

Specifically for the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, I’m not alone in being a fan. While the movie isn’t available anywhere to stream (legally) as of this writing, it has enough of a cult following that a special edition 4K blu-ray was made for super fans to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Did I buy one of those super-expensive special edition copies of the film? No. Did I go on eBay to find a used DVD copy of the movie to give to my mom for Christmas? Definitely. And the hug and kiss I got from her after she unwrapped it was worth every $15 plus shipping.

Will she actually sit down and rewatch it? I don’t know. It frankly doesn’t matter. I don’t even know if she saw it again after we watched it together at the AMC in Southwyck Mall back in 1993. But she has the memory of that, along with the memory of me giving it to her decades later. Now, so do I. The lesson this movie taught me is that the activity usually isn't what makes a memory great, but it's the people around it that does.

Review Rating: ****

Family enjoying a movie at a movie theaterMemories of the the movies can be better than memories of the movie itself.Photo credit: Canva

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Family

A new father shares why creating an email address for his baby boy is the perfect gift

His first email may end up being the best one he ever gets.

Canva.com

An X post by a new father has been making other new parents take note online. It’s regarding a gift and investment he wishes to give his newborn son for when he gets older. It’s not a savings bond. It’s not a car. It’s not even an heirloom. It’s an email address.

@Mellumjr on X shared that he created a new email address for his son. He intends on sending every photo and achievement his child has made to that email address then giving his son the password to that email address when he gets older. This way, the child can have a time capsule full of memories and thoughts from his father during that time to look through and read.



Comments overflowed all over social media, praising this idea.

“So cool! I wish I knew that before.”

“This is the silver lining!..he will always have that!....what a beautiful resource for your son 🥰💕”

“I don’t have kids, but I think this is a fantastic idea!”

Others had already taken the initiative.

“I actually did that for my daughter years before I got pregnant,” replied @Timberowl. “I would write to her about how I couldn’t wait to meet her some day. I sent pics of her ultrasounds and how excited I was. I emailed her while I was in labor, expressing my fear and excitement.”

“I started this in 2016, and have about 300 emails sent to my daughter. Just don’t know when to give her the pw and email. Maybe when she gets married one day,” @juju_f_baby12 commented.

“Exactly what I did for all my 3 kids,” said @heyfarrukh. “My eldest turned 12 two days ago and got the password. All three are also a part of a family photo album shared on Google Photos highlighting their achievements and memorable moments.”

Ever since the invention of the photograph, parents have been taking pictures of their children for prosperity purposes and memories to carry with them and to pass on to future generations. Even before then there were painted portraits for the same reason. While it is special to have a a physical family photo album or scrapbook for your child, the sad reality is that there is a chance it could be lost, misplaced, or destroyed in an accident.

In the digital age, it’s common for parents to save pictures in the cloud and set up hard drives as well to make sure that those images of their kids can be safely retained. One can argue that the best method is to have pictures saved in the cloud, on a hard drive, and with physical copies to cover all bases. Even critical commenters pointed out to @Mellumjr that the email address could automatically be erased if it wasn't regularly active.

But it’s not just photos that make this a wonderful gift to a child. With an email in their name, with those pictures could come messages from the past from a new parent. Videos of moments with time stamps and comments made from the parent to their future adult child. An archive of not just pictures memories that could be revisited on other platforms, but also one-on-one, just-for-them correspondence. A modern, more convenient version of parents writing letters to their future kids.

Who knows, it could turn into their day-to-day email address in which they could revisit their past whenever they want, and recall how much they were loved. There’s no one way to save a memory. Just make sure you have enough storage space, on the bookshelf or in your data plan.

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Joy

There are over 30 years between these amazing before-and-after photos.

"It's important for me for my photography to make people smile."

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

Before and after photos separated by 30 years.


Chris Porsz was tired of studying sociology.

As a university student in the 1970s, he found the talk of economics and statistics completely mind-numbing. So instead, he says, he roamed the streets of his hometown of Peterborough, England, with a camera in hand, snapping pictures of the people he met and listening to their stories. To him, it was a far better way to understand the world.

He always looked for the most eccentric people he could find, anyone who stood out from the crowd. Sometimes he'd snap a single picture of that person and walk away. Other times he'd have lengthy conversations with these strangers.

But eventually, life moved on and so did he. He fell out of love with photography. "Those pictures collected dust for 25 years," he says.

Then, a few years ago, Porsz found those 30- to 40-year-old photos and sent them to be printed in his local newspaper.

Peterborough, reunions, Chris Porsz

Chris Porsz and his camera.

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

And remarkably, people started recognizing much younger versions of themselves in his shots. "There was this lightbulb moment," he says of the first time someone wrote to him about one of his photos.

Eventually, he became curious about the people he'd photographed all those years ago, and he decided he'd try to find some of them. It wouldn't be easy — the photos were taken a long time ago, and Porsz didn't have names or contact information for many of the people in them.

But he did find some of them, sometimes in extraordinary ways. "Some were absolute million-to-one coincidences," he says.

Like the time he went out on a call (he's a parademic these days) at 3 a.m., and the man he was there to treat recognized him as the photographer who'd snapped his picture all those years ago. On another call, he asked a local shopkeeper if he recognized any of the subjects in the photos. He did.

Once Porsz began posting about the project online — he calls it "Reunions" — it became easier and easier to reconnect with his former subjects.

Many were eager to recreate the old shots as best they could, like Layla Gordon, who Porsz originally photographed drinking milk in 1983.

time, memories, photos

The child version drinking milk.

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

milk, history, project

The adult enjoys milk too.

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

Others groups, like these schoolgirls, had fallen out of touch. "Reunions," fittingly enough, brought them back together.

schoolgirls, pose, soul mate

Schoolgirls pose for a photo.

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

best friends, intimate, confidant

The adult versions find time for a group photo.

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

Porsz says that his subjects, like this wild-haired couple, were strangers to him 30 years ago. Now he considers many of them friends.

punk rock, narrative, archive

Pink colored hair and mohawks.

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

record, story, account

The color has moved to the sleeves.

All photos by Chris Porsz/REX/Shutterstock.

In all, Porsz has collected over 130 before-and-afters in his new book.

The response to Porsz's work has been more than he ever imagined.

He's personally heard from people all over the world who've been inspired by his project and want to try to recreate it themselves. But beyond that, he just hopes it brings a little warmth and happiness to the people who see it.

"It's important for me for my photography to make people smile," he says. "Because there is so much sadness in the world."

And while the project is finished for now, don't count out the possibility of "Reunions Part 2" somewhere down the line.

"I'd love to meet these guys in 2046 when I'm 94 years old," Porsz says.


This article originally appeared on 11.30.16

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