Wow in the World WeWow on the Weekend
Mar 22, 2026
Playful I Spy games and silly voicemail questions about strawberries and butterflies. A peek into social brain quirks and how someone can 'understand' a friend. A lively deep dive into the science of smell with smell jars, a life-size nose tour, and a study linking DNA to how people perceive odors.
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Backyard Olfactory Factory Reenactment
- Mindy built a backyard “olfactory factory” and invited neighbors to sample 150 bottled smells as a playful reenactment of a real lab study.
- The staged tour included sticky mucus, smell receptor gates, and jars labeled from wet-dog to Lily of the Valley, making the science memorable.
Nose Receptors Combine To Detect A Trillion Smells
- The human nose uses about 400 different odor-detecting receptors that catch airborne molecules and send signals to the brain.
- Those receptors combine inputs so the brain can identify, judge pleasantness, and assess safety for at least one trillion smells.
Crowd Ratings Exposed Wide Smell Reactions
- Mindy staged an odor-testing protocol with volunteers rating intensity and pleasantness on a 1–7 scale while Guy and Reggie opened jars like cilantro and asparagus pee.
- The crowd’s varied reactions (soap, gross, vanilla) illustrated real human differences in smell experience.