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Smell You Later: The Weird Science of How Sweat Attracts
- pontifier 5y agoI wonder what sort of insights could be gathered from a large matrix of odor samples and preferences. Sounds like an almost perfect data set (nodes and edge weights) for some interesting research.
- MrsPeaches 5y agoThe East German secret police used smells to find suspects: https://m.dw.com/en/the-stasi-had-a-giant-smell-register-of-dissidents/a-2555053 https://m.dw.com/en/the-stasi-had-a-giant-smell-register-of-...
- pomian 5y agoThat's a great article. Well, not great. Terrible. But a very interesting read. They did it then, and are doing it now. For those who want to know: Article describes how, today, government officials are storing smell samples of people, just in case. Just as the Stasi did in East Germany. Thanks.
- vmception 5y agoI’ve learned vocal tone range is a consistent across my mates, with higher pitched women never making the cut. I wouldn’t be surprised if scent or some pheromone level is a major factor too. This is in addition to form factor.
- ekster 5y agoAre you talking about human relationships or some kind of device or program you are interacting with? Hard to tell from the way you are describing them here.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- vmception 5y agoI’m repurposing form factor to be short hand of describing several desirable shapes and a lack of deviation from them. Since it is obvious to many people that share the same experience, I hope it catches on!
- srswtf123 5y agoSeems like textbook objectification
- addison-lee 5y agoOr people like what they like. Imagine that.
- ekster 5y agoIt reads to me more like technical specs for a sex doll or maybe dating simulator software, but I guess everyone is different.
- OrvalWintermute 5y ago> It reads to me more like technical specs for a sex doll or maybe dating simulator software Most species have some selectivity used for determining mates, as well as reproductive strategies. There is no shame in having a relationship with someone you find physically and mentally attractive. After all, if children are the biggest investment in your life, may as well have them with someone you love.
- ekster 5y agoI didn’t get the sense that the post I replied to was concerned with love or personality traits for their mating procedure as described. It was a list of physical attributes or tolerances like you might have for an object like a wrench or car.
- ElemenoPicuares 5y agoAnd he's still single.
- spansoa 5y ago> Some pheromone Interesting you brought up pheromones. There exists a whole cottage industry of companies selling pheromone scents used for the dating game. Most of it is snake oil though and they lack the proper studies needed to prove that the scents actually work
- BitwiseFool 5y agoIs anyone else really weirded out by the fact that the 'scent' you are attracted to is actually from the bacteria on the other person?
- DJBunnies 5y agoWe are just ecosystem hosts, they are the ones running the show.
- BitwiseFool 5y ago"I've noticed you around. I find your microbiome very attractive. Would you... um..."
- HPsquared 5y ago"My microbiome is signalling to me that it likes your microbiome."
- echelon 5y agoGut microbiota are increasingly being linked to immune system health. Despite the old "disproportionally more bacterial cells than human cells" myth, we can still have twice as many bacterial cells in our bodies than human cells [1]. Humans are a commensal organism of many colonies of bacteria. Without them, we'd be in bad shape. [1] https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.19136 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.19136
- _game_of_life 5y agoDid the article actually conclude that though? I just read up until the point they were talking about strippers and lap dance tips being correlated with fertility and luteinizing hormone -- which doesn't seem to be about bacterial microbiomes.
- BitwiseFool 5y agoDon't know which discussion on HN this was, but it was about the same book. Basically, each of us produces a varying amount of fat in our sweat and that leads to different bacterial biomes. The bacteria that metabolize the fat in the sweat are what actually produce the odors we recognize.
- MrsPeaches 5y agoReminds me of: https://smell.dating/ https://smell.dating/
- SavantIdiot 5y agoOr this (from: "A Fish Called Wanda"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw5MxRhjudk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw5MxRhjudk
- 123pie123 5y agoabout 20+ years ago I found myself single after a long term relationship. I expermented with many things that would work in dating, one of the things I tried was having a shower earlier on in the day I was going out (about 3-5 hours before) and make sure I do some sort mild excercise - walking/ houswork etc after the shower (and only having a little smell/ perfume on me) obviously all my observations were subjective, but it felt like it made a difference on my success rate - whether it was that or it raised my confidence I've no idea
- stinos 5y agoCan relate. My current partner was a colleague and we had to literally work cloesly together. Something about the smell of her sweat activated the right brain function because it made me want more, as in 'let's procreate right now' and as wa later found out the feeling was mutual. That same smell on other women still has the same effect by the way; whereas I'm sometimes almost disgusted by people using a lot of perfume/deodorant.
- anigbrowl 5y agoIt's better not to reference global variables in private functions.
- nlh 5y agoA fraternity brother of mine used to do this too. I remember getting a full dissertation on why this worked (for him). He would go for a (light) run in the dress shirt he planned on wearing out later that night. shrug who knows if actually helped his dating life, but he swore by it.
- robgibbons 5y agoReminds me of a line from a book I read on perfumery: "The last ingredient in any perfume is your skin." A perfume will take on a different twist after being applied to one person or another. In older times, when daily showering/hygiene wasn't super widespread, perfumes were designed to complement your natural aroma instead of covering it up. We call those natural body odors "animalic" scents. These days, we add in those types of scent into the perfume itself.
- rapnie 5y agoI know quite a few people who stopped regularly showering with soap and shampoo. They do it just on occasion and otherwise just use water. I can assure you that they do not smell bad. Consider doing so myself, and have heard it is better for skin and hair too. But I didn't look up any solid material on whether this is more healthy (a search will probably lead to a lot promoted science that urge me to use skin products).
- HEHENE 5y agoI've taken a bit of a middle ground approach, partly out of laziness and partly because it just doesn't seem all that necessary. I have to wash my hair daily otherwise I feel absolutely gross, and I'll also wash the private and smelly bits daily with soap, but otherwise I only use soap head to tow twice a week. My partners have never seemed to notice or complain about any off smells although I realize being around someone for long periods of time can desensitize you so I've taken a few opportunities to ask my parents who would certainly be the first to tell me if I smell like crap and they've never had any complaints. Anecdotally, every partner I've had has told me I have great skin. Hair stylists have also told me I have incredibly healthy hair - I've been using cheap Suave Essentials (the clear baby blue bottle) shampoo with no conditioner since I was a kid.
- graeme 5y agoYou’re actually not supposed to use soap on groin or anus: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.healthdirect.gov.au/amp/article/anal-care https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.healthdirect.gov.au/amp/art...
- pomian 5y agoWho is #15???? After that good article, and that great lead up, we don't find out who is #15. I wonder if there is a follow up article. Definitely a fascinating field of study, we haven't even begun to understand. From mating, to enemy forming, to bullying, addiction, food analysis, sleeping, etc., there are so many potential topics to understand, depending on our research into smells.
- willvarfar 5y ago> “Excerpted from The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration by Sarah Everts”
- slowhand09 5y agoSome mentions in the article remind me of the Nora Ephron movie "Michael" starring John Travolta as an archangel. Numerous women mention that he smells like cookies, pie, something pleasant from youth, etc
- rhn_mk1 5y agoThis is one of the best articles I've read in a while. The background story is entertaining, and the scientific part is relevant, well explained, and insightful. My initial reaction to personal stories in science article is to expect trudging through, but I didn't feel bored for a second here.
- kazinator 5y agoGives a new meaning to Gorky Park. OK, now you're a little too gorky (== "bitter") for me.
- racl101 5y agoMy buddy's younger sister used to say she liked the smell of guys' balls. I thought she was kidding the whole time I knew them. I wonder if this is what she meant. I just wrote her off as a weirdo lol.
- darkpine 5y agoThe fear of having any natural body odor in today's society is incredibly widespread. It's almost impossible to find information on the negative effects of our practices of putting ultra-scented substances on our skin via deodorants and perfumes, in our hair via shampoos, on our clothing via scented detergents, etc. Yet everywhere you look, there are vested corporate interests telling us that we stink, are repulsive in our natural state, and so on. This is why it's so difficult to find people willing to forgo these products, and then to admit it and report on the results. Sure, basic hygiene is important. Shower after working out. Brush your teeth. Comb your hair and rinse your scalp. I use to unquestioningly shampoo my hair every few days until I noticed I had to wash more and more frequently, as it started getting greasy quicker. In 2017 I decided to go cold turkey on using shampoo. The first few months were rough. But over time, my hair and scalp biome has normalized, and rinsing with warm water is enough to remove any grease build-up. My hair is also a lot healthier - less split ends and less dried out than before. Deodorant is a much more difficult beast to escape from. B.O. in the workplace is definitely worse than a greasy looking ponytail. However, with the lockdowns, I've been experimenting with skipping the deodorant. So far I can't say I like the results, but I wonder if it's again the kind of thing that takes a while to normalize. Either my nose will become numb to it, or the bacteria in the skin will calm down after being tampered with for so long. It's a little shocking to think I've been smearing a costly cocktail of chemicals on my pores for more than half my life, and barely even recognize my own scent. Crazy to think that we might be blocking an important subconscious source of information on the people in our lives.
- andy_ppp 5y agoI was once working on a micro site for some under eye highlighting roll-on, essential titanium dioxide suspended in various petrochemicals and emulsifiers. The premise of the ads was that bags under the eyes make you look old and tired, and I have to say all the weird beauty speak worked and I did start to wonder if I did indeed need their product that fixed a condition of being human that no-one noticed until their ad created this sense of lack in the people viewing it.
- kccqzy 5y agoBesides scented substances on our skin, I also cannot stand things like scented candles or scented air fresheners. The scents don't smell natural at all, are generally overpowering, and they occasionally give me headaches. I'd rather have good ventilation.
- kace91 5y agoCovid made me unable to smell body odor. I smell _something_, but it's very clearly not the same odors and it's completely flat - I can't tell the odor of different people apart for example, or tell apart the smell of a gym dressing room from that of used clothes. Perhaps coincidentally, ever since I had covid I've had practically 0 libido. I used to have several ONS a month, now I haven't felt the need or interest for that for more than half a year. I've been wondering if there's any relation...