Ackerman's "Prodigies of Smell" Elaborated
Out of all the experiences described in Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses, one in particular many readers can probably relate to. In the subsection "Prodigies of Smell", Ackerman discusses how scents are associated with certain environmental factors and events such as the coming of storms.
"Other individuals have been able to smell changes in the weather, too, and, of course, animals are great meteorologists... Moistening, misting, and heaving, the earth breathes like a great dark beast.
When barometric pressure is high, the earth holds its breath and vapors lodge in the loose packing and random crannies of the soil, only to float out again when the pressure is low and the earth exhales" (Ackerman 44).
Ackerman dedicates a huge portion of this subsection to detailing how Helen Keller experienced the scent before a storm. People without the disability(disabilities) or challenges Keller faced can share in this event, although to a much less degree. It is said that most people are able to detect these bacteria that produce spores, which in turn translate to part of the production of the scent - called geosmin. These compounds mixed with the release of plant oils produces the scent, petrichor.
Speaking from personal experience, whenever I smell the scent of rain I always think about bits and pieces of my childhood. Back then, I spent most of my time playing outside even when it was going to rain. For somebody who grew up in a troubled home, learning how to cope with not having parents, it is sometimes to difficult to want to remember childhood memories. Going outside was always an escape for me, even at an early age, so the outdoors and the scent of rain has a special spot in my life.
It is a privilege to have that external triggering of those good memories that I would not have otherwise. Smell truly does have a transformative dimensions to it that often goes unnoticed.
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When barometric pressure is high, the earth holds its breath and vapors lodge in the loose packing and random crannies of the soil, only to float out again when the pressure is low and the earth exhales" (Ackerman 44).
Ackerman dedicates a huge portion of this subsection to detailing how Helen Keller experienced the scent before a storm. People without the disability(disabilities) or challenges Keller faced can share in this event, although to a much less degree. It is said that most people are able to detect these bacteria that produce spores, which in turn translate to part of the production of the scent - called geosmin. These compounds mixed with the release of plant oils produces the scent, petrichor.
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| https://www.piqsels.com/en/public-domain-photo-jqpgw |
Speaking from personal experience, whenever I smell the scent of rain I always think about bits and pieces of my childhood. Back then, I spent most of my time playing outside even when it was going to rain. For somebody who grew up in a troubled home, learning how to cope with not having parents, it is sometimes to difficult to want to remember childhood memories. Going outside was always an escape for me, even at an early age, so the outdoors and the scent of rain has a special spot in my life.
It is a privilege to have that external triggering of those good memories that I would not have otherwise. Smell truly does have a transformative dimensions to it that often goes unnoticed.
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