It's strange that when somebody tells you that something smells disgusting, you'll instinctively take a big whiff in, to see if you can smell it and then subject yourself to the horrific smell, rather than just taking the persons word for it and avoiding being disgusted. amirite?

+208 It's strange that when somebody tells you that something smells disgusting, you'll instinctively take a big whiff in, to see if you can smell it and then subject yourself to the horrific smell, rather than just taking the persons word for it and avoiding being disgusted. amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Biologically, it makes sense to take a little sniff, to identify any poisonous or otherwise unhealthy chemicals, and recognising it for next time. If there are gaseous toxins, a big whiff would probably kill you. I remember the first time we had aqueous ammonia in the lab. We ahd heard so much about it's incredible stench, that one of us filled an evaporating dish with it and offered 50c coins to anyone willing to take a lungful. and i mean FULL.

by Anonymous 11 years ago