The power of scent: Memory, emotion, and attraction

Once in awhile I'll smell something that transports me back in time. Memories I haven't thought about for years come flooding back, along with emotions that feel as vivid as they were then. The smell of pine trees brings me back to summer camp, certain old buildings conjure up my elementary school days, and if anyone is ever wearing Peach Bath & Body Works lotion I'm back in seventh grade. This winter as I was cleaning out boxes from my childhood closet I discovered some old chapsticks and perfumes - gross and dusty as they were, I hesitated to throw them away, since they contained so many memories.

But of course, as David Owens describes in his moving New Yorker essay, The dime store floor: What did childhood smell like? after repeated exposure, these time-travel-inducing smells lose their ability to transport us. Owens describes the discovery of his late father's deoderant brand (Old Spice), and his dilemma over whether to wear the same brand himself or save it for special occasions in order to preserve the memory it holds. This story made me think that maybe we should all keep time capsules of the smells that are important to us. The problem is, we don't always know what they are. It's usually the incidental smells we don't think much about - the hand soaps, the foliage, the mildew - that later evoke the most powerful emotions.

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