The fascination with Joy [Milne] is of course attributable to the fact that she can smell the way she can, but it is heightened by the fact that no one knows why. She is hyperosmic by any reasonable definition, but hyperosmia has been the object of so little serious scientific investigation — the smell taboo in action, no doubt, at least in part — that it lacks even a set of agreed-upon definitional criteria.
— Read more in The Woman Who Could Smell Parkinson’s at The New York Times.
I immediately thought of my fellow NST readers and wondered if any of us are hyperosmic when I read this. I suspect some of us are. I’ve always been more sensitive to smells, but not to Joy’s level. Maybe we pay more attention to scents.
The capacity to sniff and label scents is not encouraged. Joy said her grandmother considered it rude to discuss smells publicly. Our vocabulary for scents is often limited.
My family thought it was weird that I can smell a difference between different non flavored potato and corn chips. It seems obvious to me! What about you guys?
Be well.
I am definitely not hyperosmic, but I can definitely smell the difference between potato and corn chips!
Sorry! I meant I can distinguish brands/ products of potato chips, unseen. Separately I can sort brands of corn chips by scent. So Tostitos smell different to Fritos to Bugles. And Lays smell different to plain Pringles. I didn’t explain that well.
Back in the day the soda challenges (Coke vs Pepsi vs RC vs Dr Pepper) were obvious to me by smell. I bet there are others who had that.
Thank you…that makes more sense!