I was telling an ex about smelling my coworker’s fear all day. He had a crush on me (it was a call center, so not an especially professional environment), and we had to share my cubicle for training, and he was just pouring out anxiety sweat. My ex had no idea what the fuck I was talking about and I’ve never met someone else who can identify the emotions that a person has by their sweat.
Saying someone “can smell fear” is a normal thing that comes up a lot in media, so I assumed it was also normal to notice. Apparently not. I’ll take all of the help my autistic ass can get in iding others’ emotions though
Oh hey, I remember Mythbusters did a thing on that years ago, got a professional sniffer in who was almost consistently able to detect samples of fear sweat out of a lineup of sweat samples. So yeah, fear smell is absolutely a thing if you know what to sniff for.
You got me down a rabbit hole, but it’s now been officially supported that people subconsciously react to smells, so I’m really curious if more people can train themselves to smell it.
I always thought when people talked about "smelling fear" it was just a poetic way of saying it was obvious that someone was afraid. I've certainly never been aware of picking up on a person's emotions via scent or heard someone say that they've done that.
Can you smell it on yourself? Like, do you find that your sweaty clothes smell the same after a run and, say, a presentation (or something else that gives you anxiety/scares you)? I think it’s most noticeable with my own sweat, but fear/anxiety sweat smells bad to me in a way that normal body odor or exercise sweat don’t.
Sex sweat also smells very different, but that’s normally more pleasant to me than the others. I haven’t noticed a specific smell of aggression or any other kind of sweat though.
Edit: I think you’re right that “smelling fear” is metaphoric, but I did not realize that until I started talking about it.
This is kinda interesting to me. I can pretty easily notice it with myself (If I'm scared for a presentation or calling with somebody). But I don't think I've every been able to identify it in somebody else
legit and respect, gotta take all the advantages you can get.
Now I had the opposite thought because I thought it was normal for people and I was the only one who couldn't lol
They do release formic acid which smells rank. But I've only ever smelled it from a large pile of dead ants. Not a few walking around outside or in a house.
If there's a food source they're all over, it will smell like that even when they leave.
Counterpoint, formic acid is delicious, it reminds me of malic acid, like apples.
Worst.
X-Men mutation.
Ever.
Worse than the girl who kills people by a touch?
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Suddenly makes a game of “tag” way more high-stakes—and FUN!
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Don’t have to feel guilty about boiling your lobsters alive.
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Ticks and mosquitoes? Never an issue.
I’ll admit it makes petting zoos a tragic affair, but what the hell good is “smelling” ants?
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Can I smell ants? I feel like I would have noticed if I could...
And you try don't get too close and inhale it
I can smell them when they're dead. Otherwise, not usually?
Same
I can only smell those flying ants that come out during the rains. That sweet sticky smell is another type of horror.
What the hell? You all need Jesus.
i only found out they had a smell a couple years ago, and i'm in my 30s. not because i can't smell them though, but just because i hadn't noticed it before.
They don't smell AWFUL per say, they just have a very particular smell.
Yeah... I can barely smell at all. Even normally strong smells like that of the urine of an unfixed male cat aren't particularly impactful to me. I wouldn't have even considered the potentiality that ants have a distinctive smell in spite of being aware that they use pheromone trails for navigation.
The weird minty smell?
Definitely. Formic acid.
U can taste the ants
tHe SucCuLeNt FlAvOr
You got me. I snorted ants and now they are tickling my brain
OK Ozzy
I've always been able to smell them. I can't believe there are people out there who can't. My world has been rocked.
Non-ant-smeller here. Can you smell them before you see them? Or is the smell usually after you see them?
For me it's usually only after they've died. They have this bitter, extremely unpleasant acidic smell to them.
Polistes paper wasps also have a very particular smell
But... How do you even know you can smell ants? Why did you try it? Or can you smell them from meters away?
Yes, it's known that humans have individually different sets of smell (and taste) receptors. So it wouldn't surprise me that some people would be able to smell ant trail/nest pheromones and the like. I'd guess it has less to do with formic acid though, as they do not regularly release that (it's used mainly for defense). Some people may be really triggered by the smell of certain flowers while most people would barely notice them. I my self recently developed a sensitivity to some certain chemical that appears to be in many cleaning agents, and it's very disturbing to find that disgusting smell in so many public places, dishwashing detergents, hair shampoos.
This phenomenon comes apparent a lot with foods and spices. My great example is coriander (cilantro): half of the people like the herb but for the rest it has a soapy taste so much that any food that contains coriander leaves is spoilt for them. Coriander seeds however, do not contain that specific compound. I'm one who can't stand the herb but very much likes the seeds as a spice.
Related and very interesting is also, is individually different bouquets of mating pheromones which are also present in humans (but perception is mostly subliminary). Those are connected to individual genetic sets of the immune system, a place where genetic variability and mixing is of great advantage. We choose our partners by (being able to) smell, more than we are aware of.
Infodump? ... Infodump.
Huh didn't know other people couldn't smell ants but for me I find i have to get close and sniff them to get a cent I also get the same cent from dead spiders and I wouldn't call it offensive but it is quite distinct so it gets a huh out of me every time I catch the cent
Oh my God. I've always thought ants stunk when I crush them, but my mom has always thought I was crazy. Glad to know I'm not.
How about you don't murder them?
No I'm ok, they need to stay out of my house.
