For the first time in 11 days I went to town for supplies today, for you new readers I live way back behind a mountain by myself with no neighbors within sight or hearing. A funny thing happen, now that it has warmed and there is no reason to run the kero heater, my nose has cleaned up and I noticed an odd odor, very thick in the grocery store, not as bad at the gas station because of the gasoline and oil fumes, but there just the same. I took lunch at a diner counter and then I knew - I was smelling people! The odor I can best describe as moist clay was comming from people. I have never smelled people before and it was a bit odd feeling.

What seems strange is earlier in life I have been in stressed groups (Viet Nam), on work site with other sweating men, and in mixed social company all without any notice of odor. Does a persons nose get more sharp with age? What was it like a hundred years ago when there was no advertisers to convince you that a bath was needed daily, or there was not enought water to waste on outside of the body? The people whom crossed this country in wagon trains did not have portable jacuzzies, they even died because of thirst. With all the antibiotics and other medicines today we are loseing our own immune system due to constant bathing, coddling, do what the advertizers tell us to do. Motto of this story: stay dirty, healthy, and normal. This is one persons opinion, take me seriously but only if you want to!!?

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), April 19, 2002

Answers

As you said, we become habituated to smells, and we only notice them when being away from them for a while.

Ask any middle school teacher -- junior high age students have a unique smell. I teach at a school where we have pre-k through 12th grade on one campus, and 7th through 12th in one building. When I had one junior high class in the middle of a high school class day, the high school students who came in my room just after the junior high kids often wrinkled their noses and said, "PEW!!!!!!!!!! What smells?" It was simply the junior high odor.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), April 19, 2002.

Before deorants came out, we never notice under arm smell, But now I gag when someone in a store doesn't use some. About germs, you are so right mitch. A little dirt never hurt anyone. I only had a bath once a week, and I know I was dirty as a kid.my mom poured a tablespoon of cod liver oil down my throat everyday, And I was never sick. Now the kids are sick all the time. I don"t care if you never take a bath, but please use a deorant,

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), April 19, 2002.

My grandfather, (106 at his passing 1976), stated: stomac cancer! WE had no stomac cancer until people started freezing food! Power to the heathens!!!!

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), April 19, 2002.

Mitch: It is interesting that you should bring this up. Last summer when I went on a three day water fast, I felt great, just wanted to detoxify my body. Anyway, on the third day, I could also smell an interesting "odor" on my children. It wasn't offensive just different. I wondered at the time, if my senses were clearing up. I know that goats and dogs use their sense of smell all the time.

-- Marie in Central WA (Mamafila@aol.com), April 19, 2002.

Mitch, last week I attended a workshop on abuses. The speaker talked on his abuses and having PTSD or post tramatic stress disorder. He too had been in Nam. Some symptoms of PTSD is the inability to smell or taste. I find this interesting that you bring this up. Could this be something you are experiencing?

-- Jean in No. WI (jat@ncis.net), April 19, 2002.

After spending about three weeks in the jungles of Panama one time in the Rangers, when we got back, I could smell a female from about fifty yards away. No kidding. She could be behind me, in another part of the building, whatever, but I could smell her. Didn't matter who she was. Wierd. I also would get very sensitive to the smells of colognes, deodorants, and other "synthetic" smells whenever I was in the field for an extended time. Probably just that getting away from all the "city" smells makes you really notice them when you get back.

-- chuck (woah@mission4me.com), April 19, 2002.

Oh Chuck! LOL! I'm not going there......! (Being very naughty!)

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), April 20, 2002.

Even though I have a nose like a bird-dog, I never smell anything different about a hospital. Almost everyone I know, if they aren't in the medical profession, complain about the strong odor of disinfectant when they go into a hospital. Guess my nose has got sensitized to it. Maybe like hog farmers don't smell the hogs.

-- GibsonGirl in s.e.Illinois (bobtravous@email.com), April 20, 2002.

Gibson Girl- You mean hogs smell???? ;)

-- Jenn (none@none.com), April 21, 2002.

Hey Rose, you and my wife are on the same wavelength.

She also teaches junior high kids, and swears you can actually smell the hormones in the air! Also says that the days preceding cold / warm fronts really kick the kids psyches into gear . . . she knows she is in for a rough day when those days occur.

My wife is a total kick, I swear.

-- j.r. guerra in s. tx. (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), April 22, 2002.

I know that vegetarians smell different than meat eaters. It only makes sense that what ever we put into our bodies must come out one way or another.

-- chickadee (chickadee@treetops.com), April 24, 2002.

I can't stand strong smells. By the time some people use scented soap, scented shampoo, scented cream rinse, scented deoderant and then put on cologne or perfume, and hair sprays or gels, I have trouble breathing! I usually get stuck in line at the store with someone like this. I have nothing against any of this stuff if you don't go overboard. I use a light perfume, but it seems like in the winter I smell like Static Cling and in the summer I smell like Deep Woods OFF! LOL!

-- cowgirlone in ok (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), April 24, 2002.