Memories of the 28th Century

The world already stinks more than enough, so why add to the stench?

Most animals use scent to signal others of their species and sometimes animals of other species, and humans are some of the animals that use scent. There are specific meanings in many scents, and being about to detect the scent can be important. Few, if any, animals other than humans disguise their natural scents.

Humans are a little different, and it has become increasingly popular for humans to put on scents that cover their natural scents. It would make sense if only people who had exceptionally unpleasant scents used scents, but it seems like all sorts of people use them. I suppose that the basic problem is that most people don’t appreciate the natural scents that are around them.

Now I can imagine some people cringing at the idea of not covering the smell of dirty people with something. But that isn’t the main part of applying artificial scents. Most of the people, who use scents, either on themselves or on things they wear, are relatively clean, and the scents are applied when things are washed or they are washed themselves. The people who could really use heavy scents don’t wash themselves or their clothing.

All those scents are wasted. Marketing has created the concept that artificial scents are better than what things actually smell like, but the hype is like most marketing hype; it is wrong. People don't smell bad, unless they are pretty dirty. A single day without washing seldom is enough to make someone smell bad, but sometimes it is. And sweat doesn't smell bad by itself' bacteria that take advantage of sweat and warm, moist skin can create some rather unpleasant fragrances, and those are what we try to wash off ourselves.

Women are usually pretty good about applying fragrances in quantities that are small enough that they are not unpleasant, but some are not that careful, and when men use scents, they almost always use too much. On the other hand, men who are using heavy scents usually are on the prowl, so they are giving warning to potential victims, and gay men often use such unpleasant fragrances that no one would want to get near them, and that's fine. But those scents are air pollution, and they can adversely effect the olfactory sense.

In addition to being unpleasant, excessive scents can overwhelm the nose such that pleasant fragrances can't be enjoyed, and that can detract from the enjoyment of wine, brandy, flowers, and women. One of the oddities of humans is that the olfactory receptors for pheromones do not have direct access to airways, so we are not as overwhelmed by the joyous fragrances as say rabbits, but that is all the more reason why we should enjoy what pleasant fragrance there is without hiding it under some artificial fragrance.

If you smell bad, then wash, but if you don't smell bad, then don't dump artificial scents on yourself; that stuff smells like the chemical waste that it is, and you smell better than that.