Cyclists often replace their helmets unnecessarily after dropping them on the ground, because they cannot tell whether they are damaged or not. The capsules eliminate this problem. If cracks form, smelly substances are released," explains Dr.-Ing. Christof Koplin, research scientist at the IWM.
— Scientists are developing a bike helmet that will stink when it needs to be replaced. Read more at Crash helmet with a useful smell at Physorg. (found via Scent Marketing Blog)
This is a really intriguing idea. Not totally unlike the way mercaptans are added to natural gas to alert you to a gas leak. We tend to forget that our sense of smell is not merely for pleasure. It serves a very vital function in warning us of danger. One of the risks faced by anosmics is that they can easily get sick from spoiled food because they do not have a sense of smell to warn them not to eat it.
It is very true, there are serious dangers involved with losing your sense of smell entirely.
I think it is an excellent idea. As 50_Roses mentions, the sense of smell is crucial and being anosmic can be dangerous. My mum became anosmic about 12 years ago and cannot smell smoke of any variety, bar a flicker of awareness of cigarettes, nor can she smell gas. In fact, when she was here in the UK at Christmas she had turned on the hob to cook something but the spark had not caught and it wasn’t until my husband smelled the gas and queried her did she realise it. Seriously bad!
That is tough…you have to develop other ways to sense problems. Hope she has carbon monoxide alarms all over her house.
I like this idea! I’d be upset if the smelly substances got on my head by mistake though. 😉
🙂