# Why Was I Aroused By Smell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 29, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818 "2015-06-29T21:04:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/1 "2015-06-29T21:04:16Z")
A woman approached and sat in the table nearby me (a few feet away), and I was aroused by her smell as soon as it hit my nose. She wasn’t my type, maybe a 4-5 tops on my looks meter. I found her voice attractive, but it was the smell that aroused me. Was it something to do with pheromones or can someone be aroused by someone else with a similar scent to a past girlfriend or a particular brand of perfume? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/2 "2015-06-29T21:07:47Z")
Maybe she smelled like chicken salad and you were hungry? ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/3 "2015-06-29T21:14:36Z")
Nice guess but it wasn’t in a restaurant or at meal time. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/4 "2015-06-29T23:35:02Z")
Not necessarily pheromones (IIRC, there isn’t consensus on whether pheromones really are a “thing” for humans). [But the sense of smelling is very strongly connected to memories](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/science/05angier.html). The olfactory cortex is in the limbic system and amygdala and is direct, immediate and"primitive" for lack of a better word. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/5 "2015-06-30T00:01:41Z")
That’s your answer – the sense of smell goes straight to our lizard brain, bypassing all the higher functions. Maybe the smell triggered a powerfully sexy memory or reminded you of a person or place that you found deeply sensual. Out of curiosity, what sort of smell was it? Perfume or something else like cinnamon or lemon or gee, I dunno, wood smoke or the like? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/6 "2015-06-30T00:08:58Z")
What they said. I once had a boyfriend who used a particular skin oil. Every so often I’ll catch a whiff of it on someone else, and yowza. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/7 "2015-06-30T00:34:27Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > That’s your answer – the sense of smell goes straight to our lizard brain, bypassing all the higher functions. Maybe the smell triggered a powerfully sexy memory or reminded you of a person or place that you found deeply sensual. > > Out of curiosity, what sort of smell was it? Perfume or something else like cinnamon or lemon or gee, I dunno, wood smoke or the like? There was probably enough perfume to make me wonder if it was something other than pheromones, although I guess they put pheromones in perfume nowadays for that effect. Or maybe I could just tell that she was ovulating or horny by her scent? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/8 "2015-06-30T00:49:05Z")
The olfactory nerve is the only sense organ that goes from the outside world directly into the brain, bypassing all other modulators, dampers, filters, etc. As a result, it can trigger a wide range of powerful emotions and responses. Scent molecules hit the cribriform plate in the nasal cavities and trigger nerves that feed right into the CNS for a nice, atavistic experience at times. Other times, you just smell something stinky . . . ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/9 "2015-06-30T01:00:59Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > That’s your answer – the sense of smell goes straight to our lizard brain, bypassing all the higher functions. Maybe the smell triggered a powerfully sexy memory or reminded you of a person or place that you found deeply sensual. > > Out of curiosity, what sort of smell was it? Perfume or something else like cinnamon or lemon or gee, I dunno, wood smoke or the like? Embarrassingly enough I had a lizard brain reaction to my ex-wife’s perfume once. Heart pounding in my throat, unable to speak… bleech. This was after she destroyed my life and stomped on my soul. Sometimes you can’t control it. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-i-aroused-by-smell/723818/10 "2015-06-30T01:37:13Z")
Obligatory Buffy quote: [QUOTE=Rupert Giles] Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a… it, uh, it has no-no texture, no-no context. It’s-it’s there and then it’s gone. If it’s to last, then-then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible. It should be, um, smelly. [/QUOTE]