Christmas is just a few weeks away – and among the many essential things that make this holiday so magical for most of us, smells play a really important role. The smell of pine needles, holiday baking, roasting turkey, citrus fruits, newly wrapped presents, the scent of freshly fallen snow, after all…
In fact, smells play an incredibly important role in our lives – even if we don't realize it. But our sense of smell, when it senses a familiar aroma, immediately sends a signal to our brain. A signal that reminds us of the joy we once experienced. And in this viral thread on AskReddit, netizens are recalling the various smells that they firmly associate with happiness.
More info: Reddit
#1
Fresh mown lawn. It smells good and it will always give a nostalgic flashback to my childhoods warm summer days where family and friends just were hanging out in our garden and everything was perfect.
Edit: English is not even my first language, that is really embarrassing for you guys, if i am better than you in writing it ?.
Image credits: Own_Law5626
#2
My cats head.
Image credits: Ankylowright
#3
The smell of freshly rained earth.
Image credits: OccasionPristine2056
The original thread appeared about two weeks ago and now has over 3.4K upvotes and around 5.6K numerous opinions, stories and debates, where, it would seem, literally every scent on Earth has found a place. And we, Bored Panda, are now happy to make a selection of the most interesting and fascinating answers from this thread for you.
#4
Waffles being made on a summer rainy morning.
Image credits: crash2224
#5
Walking into my childhood home on a cold day while my mom is making meatballs ?.
Image credits: ImLaunchpadMcQuack
#6
Freshly cleaned sheets, pillow cases, and blanket after a shower.
Image credits: xxHikari
It’s quite interesting that the importance of smells for our perception of the world has always been emphasized in culture. For example, in one of the Harry Potter books, the heroes, among the aromas that a freshly brewed love potion exudes for them, clearly distinguish the smell of their crushes’ hair. By the way, it’s absolutely rightly noted – among the answers from our selection there are those where people reminisce about, for example, how their spouse’s hair smells.
#7
A mix of hot toffee, hot coffee, a burning fire and cold air.
Image credits: universalreacher
#8
My dog.
Image credits: ADHD2point0
#9
Probably how christmas smells. ?.
Image credits: BlueberryCircuit
For many people, by the way, happiness is firmly associated with the smells of their favorite pets, dishes or drinks. For example, freshly brewed coffee. Just imagine: early morning, you are standing by an open window, somewhere high above the waking city, holding a cup of the strongest espresso in your hands, and your lovely cat is rubbing against your legs…
And perhaps the inevitably rolling day will later overwhelm you with a wave of troubles, the cat will miss the litter box again, and coffee on an empty stomach will cause heartburn… All this will happen too, but for now, in this particular moment, you experience an incomparable feeling of happiness. Only you, only this moment – and let the whole world wait!
#10
Cotton candy…
Image credits: MuchosComos
#11
Fresh pancakes.
Image credits: ArcadianDelSol
#12
Vanilla.
Image credits: VirginNsd2002
Damn it, this is all poetry, but in fact, like literally everything in this world, the influence of smells on us has a clear logical explanation. And it’s all about the effect of so-called associative learning, where our brain clearly links this or that scent with an event happening in our life, with our individual perception and experience.
“The linked event is then able to elicit a conditioned response for the original situation. In olfaction, the process can be understood as follows: a novel odor is experienced in the context of an unconditioned stimulus, such as a surgical procedure in a hospital, which elicits an unconditioned emotional response, such as anxiety,” Scientific American quotes Rachel S. Herz, an assistant professor of psychology at Brown University.
“The odor then becomes a conditioned stimulus for that hospital experience and acquires the ability to elicit the conditioned response of anxiety when encountered in the future. This mechanism explains both how odors come to be liked or disliked, as well as how they can elicit emotions and moods.”
#13
Sunscreen and the ocean.
Image credits: onlyinvowels
#14
Fresh laundry that just came out of a dryer.
Image credits: Pleasant-Walk-5691
#15
Redwood forest.
Image credits: unownp*sstaker
In any case, no matter how dry and scientific it may sound, each of us has our own idea of what happiness smells like and what exactly this happiness represents for us. It’s a pity, of course, that the list you read in full and the upvote you give doesn’t have its own special smell – otherwise I’d definitely say that this is one of the reasons for me to be happy. Be that as it may, now please feel free to share your own opinions in the comments as well.
#16
Wood smoke, or maybe my grandparents. I’ve lost my sense of smell and I don’t remember what things smell like anymore.
Image credits: sirjoey150
#17
Mountain air.
Image credits: Tojinaru
#18
Gasoline.
#19
Strawberries.
Image credits: x178
#20
Sweet lemon.
Image credits: danielleeee
#21
The top of my infant grandkids’ heads.
I can’t describe it. It’s like a sweet, floral smell.
Image credits: instant_ramen_chef
#22
My wife’s conditioner.
Image credits: robcrusher
#23
Gardenias and honeysuckle.
Image credits: you_upfora_peg
#24
It’d be a certain smell that takes me back to when I was young.
Although I’m never able to identify where it’s coming from.
Could make a candle out of it. Try to sell it. I’d probably only sell one .
Image credits: SaijTheKiwi
#25
The armpit and shoulder junction on my husband’s t shirt mixed with saltwater air.
Image credits: ohs0youlikebeans
#26
The way both my babies smelled when they were newborns.
Image credits: worm_genocide
#27
Sandalwood . . . ?.
Image credits: RetiredOldGal
#28
The water in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Image credits: freighter79
#29
Old school coppertone suntan lotion.
#30
Grape Hi-Chews.
Image credits: PNWCouple96
#31
Vaseline cocoa butter lip balm.
Image credits: Plus-Action-4254
#32
The smell of dew on the grass whilst the sun is still rising on a warm summer morning.
Image credits: Katiefairyz
#33
Fresh air at the morning in an old town.
#34
The smell before the rain kicks in.
#35
Teen spirit.
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