I am sure I am not the only one to notice that ones own bodily smells are nowhere near as offensive to oneself as they are to others, or vice versa. Do identical twins tolerate each others pongs in the same way?
Now there’s a word I haven’t seen in a long time. It brings back fond memories. I’ve only ever seen it once before, in relation to the stench of a river in some industrialized German city in the good old days, before hygiene was invented. Was it the Elbe?
All of the neural receptors in the body fall into one of the two following categories: phasic receptor or tonic receptor. A phasic receptor can be stimulated for a short time, but it can adapt rapidly. If the stimulus doesn’t change the neuron will stop firing. With tonic receptors, the neuron always fires when a stimulus is present.
As you might guess, the sense of smell is one of the senses that has phasic receptors. You will notice your own smell (scenario: fall into pile of trash) right away, but after a bit of time, you will cease to smell your own filth because your olfactory neurons are “used” to the smell. That’s why other people can easily smell you, because they’re not hanging around you constantly.
Identical twins have nothing to do with anything…
Interesting information, TheUnforgiven, but I think you rather misunderstood the question in the OP.
If I’m reading it correctly, I think it’s more along the lines of, “if I fart, the smell is always awful to other people, but occasionally I find the smell somewhat pleasant, in a homey kind of way. Would an identical twin smell the same pleasantness, or would s/he be just as repelled as a total stranger?”
I don’t know the answer, since there’s only one of me. Good thing, too.